OTTAWA - Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, are coming to Canada next month as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
The royal couple will visit Canadian Forces Base Gagetown in Oromocto, N.B., Saint John, Toronto and Regina from May 20 to 23. The theme of the tour is "For Queen and Country: Service to Canada — a royal and a national value."
This will be Charles' 16th visit to Canada and Camilla's second tour. They last visited in 2009.
"Occasions such as this are rare," Heritage Minister James Moore said in a statement. "The only other time Canada celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of a reigning King or Queen was for Queen Victoria in 1897.
"We welcome the royal couple and look forward to showing them some of the best of what Canada has to offer."
While in Canada, Charles and Camilla will meet young veterans at Gagetown and the national leadership of the Assembly of First Nations in Toronto, attend Victoria Day fireworks and a War of 1812 event in Toronto, and attend a performance by the Regina Symphony Orchestra.
Moore says the trip will cost less than $1 million, before security costs are factored in. The minister says their last trip cost $1.76 million, while the Queen's 2010 visit cost $2.79 million and Prince William and Kate's tour last year cost $1.2 million.
Also on Monday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper named former prime minister Jean Chretien as Canada's representative to The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, which raises money for charities across the Commonwealth.
"Former prime minister Chretien is uniquely qualified to serve as Canada's representative to the Diamond Jubilee Trust," Harper said in a news release.
"Mr. Chretien is a member of the Queen's prestigious Order of Merit. His relationship with Her Majesty, which spans over 40 years, includes six official royal tours he hosted during his time as prime minister."
