King Charles and Queen Camilla visited Canada House in London on Tuesday, May 20, days before they’re scheduled to travel to Ottawa
While at Canada House, King Charles received a key to the building similar to the one given to King George V when Canada House first opened in 1925

During his first visit to Canada as sovereign, King Charles will deliver a speech from the throne at Canada’s opening of Parliament
King Charles and Queen Camilla are getting ready for their trip to North America.

King Charles, 76, and Queen Camilla, 77, are heading to Canada next week, bringing them to the same continent as the monarch’s younger son, Prince Harry, who now lives in California with Meghan Markle and their children.

On May 2, the Duke of Sussex spoke with BBC News just hours after a judge dismissed his legal challenge concerning his reduced security in the U.K., which was reduced after stepping back as a working member of the royal family in 2020. Harry, 40, said in the new interview, “I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore.”

“Life is precious. I don’t know how much longer my father has,” he continued, referencing King Charles’ cancer diagnosis. “He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff, but it would be nice to reconcile.”

On May 20, the King and Queen prepared for their upcoming visit to Ottawa by stopping by Canada House to celebrate the establishment’s 100th anniversary.

In a video posted to the royal family’s official X account on Tuesday, King Charles and Queen Camilla greeted visitors and posed for photos at London’s Canada House, which showcases Canadian art, design and culture and serves as home to the Canadian High Commission in the United Kingdom.

The King was presented with the key to Canada House during his visit. The gift was similar to the Canadian bronze, silver and nickel key given to King George V when Canada House first opened in 1925, according to the royal family’s post.

The royals’ trip to Canada House comes just days before they are scheduled to travel to Ottawa in what will be the King’s first trip to Canada as sovereign. The visit will also mark King Charles’ twentieth trip to Canada and will be Camilla’s sixth.

The couple will arrive in Canada on May 26 and will depart on May 27. The first day of their trip will begin with a community event at which King Charles and Queen Camilla will meet with Canadians from different organizations across the country.

The King will then meet with Governor General Mary Simon and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, after which Queen Camilla will be sworn in as a member of the Canadian Privy Council.

After Queen Camilla’s ceremony, the royals will plant a commemorative tree at Rideau Hall, the official residence of the governor general. In a nod to one of King Charles and Queen Camilla’s previous visits to Canada, the tree will be placed near the sugar maple that the couple planted back in 2017.

The busy first day will end with a reception honoring the 10 lieutenant governors from Canada’s provinces as well as the three commissioners from Canada’s territories.

On the second day of the royals’ visit, they will attend the state opening of Parliament, during which King Charles will deliver a speech from the throne to the Senate chamber. The significant moment marks just the second time that a royal has opened Parliament, and will be the third time a sovereign has delivered a speech from the throne.

Queen Elizabeth previously opened Parliament in October 1957.

Before Queen Camilla and King Charles end their visit to Canada, the royals will visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial to lay a wreath and flowers at the landmark.

Charles made his first official visit to Canada in 1970, and most recently visited the country in 2022 with Queen Camilla to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee.

Shortly after arriving on his 2022 trip, King Charles delivered a speech at the Confederation Building about the “vital process” of reconciliation following years of mistreatment of Canada’s Indigenous people, including children who were forcibly relocated by the Anglican Church, where the late Queen served as head.

“As we look to our collective future, as one people sharing one planet, we must find new ways to come to terms with the darker and more difficult aspects of the past: acknowledging, reconciling and striving to do better. It is a process that starts with listening,” he said at the time.