Prince William and Kate Middleton to visit Canada

Prince William and Kate Middleton will visit Quebec, Ottawa, Alberta and the Arctic northwest. 

The first official overseas tour by Prince William and Kate Middletonfollowing their marriage will be to Canada at the end of June, Clarence House has announced.

As the Queen is Canada's head of state, the prince is also a prince of the country. The couple will spend a week crossing from Quebec and Ottawa to Alberta and the Arctic northwest territories.

The itinerary is likely to include the usual set pieces of official banquets, welcoming ceremonies involving guards of honour, and walkabouts.

It is thought the couple will take part in Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa on 1 July.

A spokesman for St James's Palace said: "Prince William was pleased to accept an invitation on his and Miss Middleton's behalf from the government of Canada.

"Prince William was keen to be able to visit Canada for himself as an adult, and to be able to show his wife a country that is close to his family's heart."

William visited the Commonwealth country in 1998 aged 15, touring Vancouver with his father the Prince of Wales and brother Prince Harry.

Meanwhile, it is thought that the couple have chosen photographer Hugo Burnand to take their official photographs.

Burnand, who previous sitters have included Michael Jackson, Lucian Freud and Lady Thatcher, took the photographs at Prince Charles's wedding to Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, in 2005.

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