King Charles, Camilla to Visit Canada in May

Britain's King Charles III (L) holds an audience with Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney at Buckingham Palace, in central London, on March 17, 2025. (AFP)
Britain's King Charles III (L) holds an audience with Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney at Buckingham Palace, in central London, on March 17, 2025. (AFP)
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King Charles, Camilla to Visit Canada in May

Britain's King Charles III (L) holds an audience with Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney at Buckingham Palace, in central London, on March 17, 2025. (AFP)
Britain's King Charles III (L) holds an audience with Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney at Buckingham Palace, in central London, on March 17, 2025. (AFP)

King Charles III and Queen Camilla will visit Canada, where the monarch is head of state, from May 26-27 and attend the opening of parliament, Buckingham Palace said Friday.

"The King, accompanied by The Queen, will attend The State Opening of the Parliament of Canada, in Ottawa," a statement read.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, winner of this week's general elections, said the visit would be "an historic honor which matches the weight of our times".

The king hosted Carney at Buckingham Palace in March, at a time when US President Donald Trump was issuing threats against the Commonwealth nation.

It will be Charles' first visit to Canada since becoming king in 2022 and his first trip to a Commonwealth country since touring Australia and Samoa in October.

That visit saw a much-reduced schedule, being the first foreign trip since the king was diagnosed with an unspecified cancer in February 2024.

He is still receiving weekly treatment, but recently completed a visit to Italy.



Pope Leo to Escape Rome’s Summer Heat with July Stay at Castel Gandolfo

Pope Leo XIV meets the members of the Rome's local church in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (AP)
Pope Leo XIV meets the members of the Rome's local church in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (AP)
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Pope Leo to Escape Rome’s Summer Heat with July Stay at Castel Gandolfo

Pope Leo XIV meets the members of the Rome's local church in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (AP)
Pope Leo XIV meets the members of the Rome's local church in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (AP)

As temperatures in Rome swelter this month, reaching more than 35 degrees Celsius (95°F) under the hot Mediterranean sun, Pope Leo has decided to leave town.

The pontiff will spend July 6 to 20 about an hour's drive south in Castel Gandolfo, a small hamlet on Lake Albano, the Vatican said on Tuesday.

Leo, elected pope on May 8 to replace the late Pope Francis, will also return to the lakeshore for at least one weekend in August, it said.

All of Leo's public and private audiences have been suspended from July 2 through July 23, the Vatican said, as was usual under Francis, to allow the pontiff a period of rest. They will restart on July 30.

By going to Castel Gandolfo, Leo is restarting a summer tradition that was broken by Francis.

Dozens of popes over centuries have spent the summer months at Lake Albano, where temperatures are usually about ten degrees cooler than Rome, but Francis preferred to stay in his air-conditioned Vatican residence.

The Vatican has owned a papal palace and surrounding grounds in Castel Gandolfo since 1596. Spanning 55 hectares, the property includes official apartments, elaborate Renaissance-style gardens, a forest and a working dairy farm.

Francis, who shunned most of the trappings of the papacy, had the official papal palace turned into a museum.

Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni told Reuters the pope would not stay at the palace, which will remain a museum, and will instead stay on another Vatican property.

Leo will return to Castel Gandolfo for the weekend of August 15 to 17.