I’m Cat Tunney, senior reporter with CBC’s Parliamentary Bureau.
The pageantry will begin in about half an hour, when the King and Queen will travel through the Parliamentary precinct in Canada’s state landau — the ceremonial horse-drawn carriage used for royal transport in Ottawa. They’ll wave at the crowds which are already lining up here in downtown Ottawa on what’s turning into a beautiful sunny day.
As the landau travels down Wellington Street, the King and Queen will be accompanied by 28 horses of the RCMP Musical Ride, with 14 in front and the rest following behind. (The King was made the commissioner-in-chief of the Mounties in 2023.)
At the Senate, the King will receive full military honours, including a 100-person guard of honour from the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment, an inspection of the guard and the band, followed by a 21-gun salute. That’s scheduled for around 10:15 a.m. ET.
The actual speech from the throne will be delivered at 11 a.m., officially opening the 45th Parliament of Canada.
The King’s final event on his whirlwind trip will be wreath laying at the National War Memorial scheduled just before noon.
Then they’re heading back to Grand Old England.
