King Charles III and Queen Camilla visited Canada House in London on Tuesday morning.
The visit was meant to mark Canada House’s 100th anniversary. Home to Canada’s diplomatic mission to the U.K., the grand building on London’s iconic Trafalgar Square also showcases Canadian art, music and culture.
Charles and Camilla met with officials including Canadian High Commissioner to the U.K. Ralph Goodale, who presented the monarch with a ceremonial key to Canada House. Charles’ great-grandfather, King George V, was given a key made of Canadian bronze, silver and nickel when Canada House officially opened in June 1925.
A video posted to the Royal Family’s Instagram page shows the royals touring the building and chatting with Mounties and staff while a remix of Celine Dion’s pop hit “I’m Alive” plays in the background.
Charles and Camilla are set to visit Ottawa on May 26 and 27 to attend the opening of the next parliamentary session. In a rare appearance, Charles will deliver the speech from the throne on May 27, which will introduce the new Liberal government’s priorities.
Throne speeches are typically delivered by the Governor General, who is the monarch’s representative in Canada. The British monarch is Canada’s head of state.
The King of Canada’s trip to deliver the throne speech was requested by Prime Minister Mark Carney. It will be Charles’ 20th visit to Canada, but his first as king. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, delivered throne speeches in Canada in 1957 and 1977.
“This is an historic honour which matches the weight of our times,” Carney said when the announcement was made.
While Charles has not directly commented on U.S. President Donald Trump’s musings about turning Canada into the 51st U.S. state, the upcoming visit is widely being interpreted as a show of support for Canada’s independence and sovereignty.
