The federal government has released the itinerary for the upcoming visit of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
The primary focus of the trip is for King Charles to deliver the speech from the throne on May 27, but the royals will have a day of events the day prior. King Charles and Queen Camilla will be in Ottawa May 26 and 27. Their visit was first announced May 2.
This will be King Charles 20th visit to Canada and Queen Camilla's sixth visit, but it will be their first visit as king and queen. Their last visit, as the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, was in May 2022 as part of the year-long celebrations to mark the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.
On May 26, they will be welcomed at the Canada Reception Centre by Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, Prime Minister Mark Carney, Indigenous leaders and Ontario's Lt.-Gov. Edith Dumont. There will also be an arrival guard from the Royal Canadian Dragoons, a senior armoured regiment of the Canadian Armed Forces.
Afterward, the king and queen will travel to Lansdowne Park to meet with members of the community organizations and the public. They will then head to Rideau Hall, the residence of the governor general and the official residence of the king and queen while in Canada.
King Charles and Queen Camilla will participate in a ceremonial tree planting surrounded by the Viceregal representatives and community members.
The king will then hold an audience with Simon and Carney.
The following morning, King Charles and Queen Camilla will travel on Wellington Street from the Bank of Canada to the Senate of Canada using Canada’s State Landau, drawn by horses of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride. The king will receive full military honours, including a Royal Salute, a 100-person guard of honour from the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment, an inspection of the guard and the band and a 21-gun salute.
King Charles will then deliver the throne speech to open the 45th Parliament of Canada. After that, he and Queen Camilla will visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial to pay their respects.
A news release from the federal government says having the speech delivered by a sovereign is "a rare moment where we witness Canadian democracy in all its depth: a balance between heritage and responsibility, tradition and action."
This will be the third time a reigning monarch has delivered the throne speech. The last time was Queen Elizabeth II in 1977 as part of her Silver Jubilee tour. Prior to that, she also delivered the throne speech in 1957 to mark her first visit to Canada as a reigning monarch.
Canada is a constitutional monarchy, and the monarch is the head of state. Those responsibilities are usually carried out by the governor general, the monarch's representative in Canada.
