Britain's Queen Elizabeth II to visit Canada next year
AFP
OTTAWA- Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh will visit Canada in 2010 for their 25th trip to the country, Canada's governor general announced on Sunday.
"Her Excellency, the Right Honourable Michaelle Jean, Governor General of Canada, is pleased to announce that Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh are grateful to accept the invitation of the Government of Canada to undertake a visit to Canada in 2010, subject to the usual diary considerations," Ottawa said in a statement.
"It is always a high honour to host a royal visit," said Prime Minister Stephen Harper in a statement.
"This visit by The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh will be a celebration of our shared heritage and values," he said.
Jean is the queen's representative in Canada, and the British monarch serves as head of state in the country, which is both a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy.
The 2010 trip will be the queen's 25th to Canada since she ascended to the throne in 1953, with her most recent visit in 2005.
Prince Charles, heir to the throne, and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, visited Canada last November.
The pair visited Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and the capital Ottawa.
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