Prince Charles and the Duchess will arrive in Canada on May 20th, and will tour New Brunswick, Ontario and Saskatchewan officially from May 21st through May 23rd. Their visit is to coincide with Victoria Day, the official celebration of the Queen's birthday in Canada, on May 21st. They will visit with young veterans and their mentors, take in the Victoria Day fireworks over Lake Ontario in Toronto, meet the national leadership of the Assembly of First Nations, and present medals of honor to Canadians who have provided service to their communities. They will also meet with young people who have participated in the Prince's charities and take in a performance of the Regina Symphony Orchestra (of which Prince Charles is patron), among other events. This visit follows a hugely successful Canadian tour conducted by the prince's elder son Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, and his wife Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge (formerly Kate Middleton) in July of 2011. The excitement of the Canadian public in response to these events is indicative of a continued appreciation not only of the Queen, but the historic ties between Britain and Canada.
The overwhelmingly positive response to the marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, in conjunction with the excitement surrounding the diamond jubilee celebrations, has shown an increase in the popularity of the British monarchy, which suffered a blow after the death of Prince Charles' first wife Diana, the Princess of Wales, in a 1997 car accident in Paris. Their younger son, Prince Harry, also found great success in his first public solo tour of Belize, the Bahamas and Jamaica in March, also for the Queen's anniversary. The celebrations surround a central weekend at the beginning of June, Saturday the 2nd through Tuesday the 5th, and on June 4th there will be a televised Concert at Buckingham Palace organized by the BBC. The monarchy is extremely fortunate to be able to reap the benefits of the popularity of its younger generation, who will no doubt be front and center during the June festivities, ramping up the cheering as well as the press attention.
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall were married in a low-key ceremony on April 9th, 2005. Prince William served as his father's best man. The theme of this Royal tour is "For Queen and Country: Service to Canada--A Royal and a National Value."
Follow Lauren Moccio on Twitter @TheGrottoTweets for more commentary on news & politics.
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