OTTAWA-
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will join Governor General Mary Simon at Rideau Hall this morning as King Charles III is proclaimed Canada’s new head of state during an accession ceremony.
Trudeau and members of the federal cabinet and Privy Council will meet before the ceremony as part of the protocol needed to officially proclaim the new sovereign.
The accession ceremony comes as the federal government prepares a series of events to commemorate the legacy of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Authorities are awaiting public confirmation of the date of her state funeral in London before announcing the date of Canada’s National Memorial ceremony for the Queen.
The Department of Heritage says the national ceremony will begin with a commemorative parade made up of members of the Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP officers, accompanied by a 96-gun salute – one for each year of his life – and a flypast of CF-18s.
This will be followed by a service at Christ Church Anglican Cathedral in downtown Ottawa, which will be attended by government officials and other dignitaries and which will be nationally televised for all Canadians.
The protocol calls for 10 days of mourning after the Queen’s death, but the rules regarding funerals are not as rigid.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on September 10, 2022.