At the invitation of the Canadian Government, and as part of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in Canada, Their Royal Highnesses will tour Canada from 17th to 19th May. Beginning in St. John’s, Newfoundland, the eastern most point of the country, and finishing in Northwest Territories, with a day’s engagements in Ottawa in between, Their Royal Highnesses will have the chance to meet with, listen to and celebrate with Canadians from coast to coast to coast. This will be The Prince of Wales’ nineteenth visit to Canada and The Duchess of Cornwall’s fifth visit.
To celebrate The Queen’s outstanding example of service over seven decades, Their Royal Highnesses are particularly looking forward to meeting some of the many Canadians who have served in their own communities over the years and most recently through the pandemic.
Throughout the tour Their Royal Highnesses will take the opportunity to continue to engage with Indigenous communities. Over five decades, HRH continues to learn from Indigenous peoples in Canada and around the world. He recognizes their deep ties to the land and water and the critical traditional knowledge they hold to restore harmony between people and Nature.
Continuing his decades of work to support sustainability, during this tour The Prince of Wales will discuss the impact of global warming and engage with leaders from across public, private and philanthropic sectors working to build a green economy in Canada in Ottawa. Similarly, with his longstanding commitment to supporting young people across the boundaries of faith and community, His Royal Highness looks forward to meeting with and listening to Canadian youth, including those he has helped through his Prince’s Trust Canada.
As part of Her Royal Highness’s commitment to support survivors of domestic abuse, The Duchess of Cornwall will visit a safe housing project in Yellowknife and learn about how the organisation is supporting women and families who have fled violence in the home.
The Governor General will welcome Their Royal Highnesses to Canada when they arrive in Newfoundland and Labrador, on Tuesday the 17th of May. Together they will attend an official welcome ceremony at the Confederation Building in St. John’s where The Prince will say a few words. In St. John’s, Their Royal Highnesses will first take part in a solemn moment of reflection and prayer at the Heart Garden, on the grounds of Government House, with Indigenous Leaders and community members in the spirit of Reconciliation. Heart Gardens are in memory of all Indigenous children who were lost to the residential school system, in recognition of those who survived, and the families of both. With the Lieutenant Governor, Their Royal Highnesses help launch the Commonwealth Walkway laid to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee. They will also meet with local community members and representatives of NONIA - established more than a century ago in St. John’s to help local communities access health care services through the sale of knitted garments. This organization is also supported by His Royal Highness’s ‘Campaign for Wool’
Moving to Quidi Vidi, a picturesque community just outside St. John’s, TRH will meet local artists who are preserving traditional crafts as well as local venders and members of the community. There will also be a chance to visit the family-run Quidi Vidi Brewery, housed in a former fish processing plant. It is the oldest craft brewery and third-largest brewer in Newfoundland. Many fish processing plants have been repurposed due to the decline in the fishing industry. The brewery is famous for their “iceberg” beer made from 20,000-year-old water harvested from icebergs which migrate seasonally to Newfoundland.
In Ottawa, on the 18th of May, Their Royal Highnesses will join the Governor General at the National War Memorial in remembrance of those Canadians who gave their lives in the service of others. Their Royal Highnesses will later have the opportunity to meet, in Rideau Hall, with serving and Veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces. The Prince and The Duchess are proud to be Colonel-in-Chief of ten Canadian military units, with whom they have close and enduring relationships. Only earlier this month, The Prince of Wales received representatives of The Toronto Scottish Regiment at his private home in Scotland to celebrate, with them, their centenary.
Recognising Canada’s vital contribution to international efforts to respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Their Royal Highnesses will meet members of Canada’s Ukrainian community, the largest outside Europe, and will join with them in a moment of prayer. Continuing to recognize Canada’s long history of welcoming those seeking refuge and a better life, Their Royal Highnesses will visit a school in Vanier, one of Ottawa’s vibrant francophone communities, where children and parents from across the world are being supported and welcomed as New Canadians.
As Honorary Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, The Prince of Wales, with The Duchess of Cornwall, will recognise their service by meeting their officers and touring their stables. They will then join members of the local community to watch a demonstration of the world famous Musical Ride.
His Royal Highness will then join Canadian leaders across public, private and philanthropic sectors to discuss how best to accelerate the transition to a green economy. The Prince of Wales has long championed the integration of public, private, academic, civil society and Indigenous voices to this end. This includes the private sector focused Sustainable Markets Initiative which he founded in 2020 to accelerate the global transition to a sustainable future and which includes a number of prominent Canadian CEOs.
The day will also include meetings with the Prime Minister, the Governor General and with members and beneficiaries of Prince’s Trust Canada which His Royal Highness established over a decade ago to support youth people and military veterans into employment and to contribute to a sustainable future in Canada.
The day will end with a Reception at Rideau Hall to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee.
On Thursday 19th of May, Their Royal Highnesses will depart for the Northwest Territories, which was first visited by His Royal Highness with The Queen and The late Duke of Edinburgh in 1970. Here, Their Royal Highnesses will visit the First Nation Dene Community in Dettah, where, after a traditional welcome, prayer and ceremony, His Royal Highness will meet with local chiefs and elders. Her Royal Highness will visit Dettah’s Kaw Tay Whee School to take part in the community school’s unique programming and their efforts on preserving their Indigenous language, Welledeh.
With the Northwest Territories warming at about three times the global rate, The Prince of Wales will then visit the nearby Ice Road passage or Yellowknife Bay to see the impact of climate change on local communities.
Marking their 75th year, The Prince will then meet Canadian Rangers and Junior Rangers, a unit of the Canadian Armed Forces Army Reserve made up of First Nations, Inuit and Métis and other Canadians who, as a whole speak 26 dialects and languages.
The final elements of the tour will begin at the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre which His Royal Highness opened in 1979 to showcase the culture and history of the peoples of the Northwest Territories. Their Royal Highnesses will meet the Commissioner of the Northwest Territories, and members of the local Indigenous communities to listen and learn about Indigenous traditions and relationships in the North.
Their Royal Highnesses’ tour will end with a visit to the Ceremonial Circle of the Joint Task Force North Headquarters where the Jubilee Flag will be raised.
Altogether, in the Jubilee Year, the tour is a chance to continue their long connection with Canadians, to listen to and learn from communities across Canada, and to celebrate service in the spirit of Her Majesty’s Jubilee.
