Members of the Royal Family often come to Canada to help celebrate important occasions such as Canada Day, open a new building in a community, visit organizations or military units in which they have a special interest, and support charities and good causes to gain publicity and raise funds.

We call these tours “homecomings” because our Royal Family does not “visit” here a foreign country as, for instance, the monarch or president of a foreign country might do. Instead, they come home to one of The Queen’s realms – and feel very much at home here.

You might think of the difference between the formal occasion when a parent brings home “the boss” from her workplace’s head office, and the special warmth we all feel when a grandparent or family member working overseas returns to be with the family.

The Queen was last in Canada in 2010. The Prince of Wales and his wife the Duchess of Cornwall came home to Canada in 2009, 2012 and 2014. The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge (William and Catharine) first came to Canada as a married couple in 2011.

For a complete list of royal homecomings, see here .

Have you seen a member of our Royal Family during a Canadian homecoming? If not, did you follow a Canadian Royal event on television or in the social media