King Charles III, the British monarch, has arrived in Canada for a two-day visit.
The monarch’s trip, which started on Monday 26 May, comes at the invitation of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose party won the general election last month.
Charles is the ceremonial head of state in Canada, which remained a Commonwealth realm after gaining independence from Great Britain in 1867.
The king is to open parliament in Ottawa today with a “Speech from the Throne” – the first such address to be delivered by a British monarch in Canada since 1977.
Later on Monday, Carney said Canada is “honored” to welcome Charles and his wife Queen Camilla, adding that the royal visit highlights “the vitality of our constitutional monarchy and our distinct identity”.
Charles’s trip will be his first visit to the former British colony since becoming king in September 2022.
On Monday, the royal couple greeted supporters at a park in Ottawa and met vendors and artists. The king also participated in a ceremonial puck drop to launch a street hockey demonstration before planting a tree at Rideau Hall in another part of the city.
