Remarks by Simon Martin, Deputy Private Secretary to TRH on Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, on the upcoming visit to Canada

As you know, TRH will be visiting Canada for four days from 18th 21st May.  The focus of this Royal Tour will be highlighting Canadian achievement past and present, and looking to the future.

This will be the 16th time that The Prince of Wales has visited Canada since his first visit in 1970 with Her Majesty The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh and Princess Anne.  It's worth noting that in the past five years, The Prince and The Duchess will have visited Canada together three times, which shows their commitment to, and deep affection for, the Canadian people.

This time, The Prince and The Duchess will visit three Canadian provinces: Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Manitoba and six communities: Halifax and Pictou County in Nova Scotia (18th and 19th May); Charlottetown, Bonshaw and Cornwall in Prince Edward Island (19th and 20th May) and Winnipeg in Manitoba (20th and 21st May).  The Prince last visited Manitoba in 1996 and Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island in 1983.  The Duchess has not previously visited any of the three provinces.

During the course of the visit, TRH will meet a wide range of Canadians including young people, veterans and volunteers. They will also meet serving military personnel and families, charity and community representatives and business leaders.  The focus of the visit will be celebrating Canadian achievement they'll even meet the schoolchildren who were the first to have their science experiment performed on the International Space Station!

There are also a number of anniversaries which are being marked during this visit including the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference in Prince Edward Island that led to the Confederation of Canada, the centenary of the outbreak of WWI, the 75th anniversary of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and, believe it or not, the centenary of Winnie the Bear (the inspiration behind Winnie the Pooh) more on that, later.

Highlights will include:

• The Prince and The Duchess taking tea with Canadian War brides and Second World War veterans in Halifax; 

• Their Royal Highnesses touring a heritage quay and attending a celebration of Celtic culture in Pictou County;    

• Their Royal Highnesses watching the Victoria Day Fireworks with local people in Charlottetown;

• The Prince walking a new trail in Bonshaw Park, PEI, and officially opening it;

• The Duchess visiting school children in Cornwall who have written to Clarence House to request a Royal visit; 

• Their Royal Highnesses viewing the only known oil painting of Winnie the Pooh by original illustrator Ernest H Shepard, which was originally commissioned for a teashop in Bristol and now hangs in the Pooh Gallery at Assiniboine Park.

• Also at the park, The Prince feeding Hudson, a polar bear, at the 'International Polar Bear Conservation Centre in Winnipeg (as part of the bear's positive reinforcement training).

• The Duchess visiting the Royal Winnipeg Ballet to mark its 75th anniversary, and touring the ballet's facilities, including the costume department and the dance studios. 

    

While in Canada, The Prince of Wales will also be supporting the work of some of his own charitable initiatives, for example The Prince's Foundation for Building Community and the work of Prince's Charities Canada Foundation with Canadian business and military entrepreneurs. Meanwhile, The Duchess of Cornwall will be undertaking a couple of visits which build on key areas of her work, including touring a Credit Union in Winnipeg and a housing project which supports women who have suffered domestic violence. While Her Royal Highness hasn't been directly involved in this area, she has done a lot of work to raise awareness about rape and sexual abuse and these fields can sometimes overlap.