Prince Charles and Camilla finish up Platinum Jubilee visit in Northwest Territories

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Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, have started their journey to Canada’s North, where they are scheduled to speak with First Nations chiefs as the final day of the royal visit focuses on Indigenous issues and climate change.

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The couple exited their motorcade in pouring rain and boarded the Canadian government plane at the Ottawa International Airport before departing for Yellowknife ahead of a busy day scheduled in the Northwest Territories.

The couple are to be greeted by Yellowknife Mayor Rebecca Alty and Margaret Thom, the commissioner of the Northwest Territories, upon landing.

The couple are heading to the Yellowknives Dene First Nation community of Dettah in the morning, where Prince Charles is to speak with First Nations chiefs and hear about Indigenous-led solutions to climate change.

The duchess is stopping at a school to hear about programs aimed at preserving Indigenous languages, and the prince will be made an honorary Canadian Ranger.

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The three-day tour began in Newfoundland and Labrador before the royal couple headed to Ottawa, where they attended a church service at a Ukrainian Orthodox cathedral and met with a family displaced by the Russian invasion.

During a Platinum Jubilee reception at Rideau Hall on Wednesday evening, Gov. Gen. Mary Simon encouraged the couple to listen to the Indigenous leaders, elders and community members they meet in the North. She said those stories are an integral part of the journey toward reconciliation.

RoseAnne Archibald, the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said during the reception she asked the prince for a formal apology from the Queen, as head of the Church of England. Metis National Council President Cassidy Caron also said she intended to use that occasion to request an apology.

The last royal visit to Northwest Territories was in 2011, when Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, were welcomed by large crowds during a one-day stop in the North during a whirlwind first royal tour for the newlyweds.

This royal visit will culminate with a celebration in honour of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in Yellowknife later Thursday.