Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip Reopen Canada House

Even the Queen sometimes doesn’t have all the power, as she and the Duke of Edinburgh found themselves sitting in traffic on Trafalgar Square today as they were heading to Canada House.

The pair arrived at their destination, the Canadian High Commission, just in time, and were greeted by the High Commissioner, Gordon Campbell, and the former Canadian Foreign Minister, John Baird. Officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were stationed outside in their traditional red uniforms and campaign hats.

Inside the building, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were present for the official reopening of the newly refurbished building, which allows all the Canadian consul staff to work out of one location. The Queen was also presented with a set of keys to the building, made of gold, silver and nickel.

A short tour of the building, including the Queen Elizabeth Atrium, was next on the agenda, and the couple were able to view a number of Canadian art pieces (there are 291 in the building). Amongst the pieces is Gordon Smith’s Reflection, which the Queen discussed with the artist.

King George V first opened Canada House in 1925.

Filed under The United Kingdom
Tagged Canada, Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, The Duke of Edinburgh.