(CP) - A young Canadian boy is bringing home a royal memory from a trip to England to celebrate the centenary of scouting.

Peter Davidson, of Kelowna, B.C., was among tens of thousands of youngsters from around the world Saturday attending the 21st World Scout Jamboree near Chelmsford, east of London.

Prince William opened the event, which came nearly 100 years to the day after Robert Baden-Powell launched the Scout movement.

Davidson said he missed having a chance to speak with Prince William by that much. The 14-year-old said he was standing next to a scout from Hong Kong who gave the prince a scarf as a gift.

"William asked (him) about what it was like living in China and what impact the scouts had in China," Davidson told The Canadian Press by telephone shortly after the ceremony.

"I thought he would be standing at a podium giving a speech, but I was surprised how he interacted with everyone" said Davidson, whose visit to London was his first-ever overseas trip.

"He was very friendly, acted very kind to everyone, always saying thank you."

As many as 40,000 youngsters from more than 160 countries took over Hylands Park, the site of the festival, for the 12 days of camping that started Saturday. The event, one of the biggest in the history of scouting, was so large it was creating one of the country's largest towns, the Scout Association said.

Davidson was one of about 130 Canadian scouts taking part at the event.

Prince William, the Queen's grandson, arrived at the site by helicopter along with Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, who serves as president of the Scout Association and is the Queen's cousin.

The scouts took Prince William, who has never been a scout, and the Duke of Kent on a tour of the 300-hectare festival site to observe first hand how scouting has evolved into the organization it is today. William received many traditional Scout neckerchiefs commemorating the jamboree, which he promptly tied around his neck.

Davidson, in his tenth year of scouting, said he was very impressed and wished he had brought a gift for the prince, too.

"I for one, had forgotten to bring something for him to the ceremony. It wasn't actually said to bring something for him. It was actually a kind gesture that some people were doing and I hadn't thought about it," said Davidson.

Prince William walked around the site and had tea with scouts in a traditional Bedouin tent from Saudi Arabia. The prince also met with children from South Africa, discussing with them AIDS awareness and sustainable energy projects, and even played with them in an African drum band.

He was flanked by royal security guards and by lines of scouts who joined hands around him to keep crowds away.

The World Scout Jamboree has taken place every four years since 1920.

The international gathering to celebrate the 10th anniversary in 1917 had to be postponed until 1920 because of the First World War. The first jamboree, held in London, attracted 8,000 Scouts from 34 countries. The name "Jamboree" comes from the Swahili greeting "jambo," which means "hello."