Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, is to visit the fire-damaged city of Fort McMurray in northern Alberta on Friday.
The countess, wife of the Queen’s youngest son, Prince Edward, is to be accompanied on the visit by Gov. Gen. David Johnston.
“I think the tragedy brings the opportunity that we would never otherwise have had,” Melissa Blake, the mayor of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, said. “It’s great the curiosity is there but it’s even better to know that we’re getting reassurances coming from other parts of the world, that means what happened here had that much significance that way.”
The announcement out of Ottawa came as Edward and Sophie were visiting Manitoba and Saskatchewan on Wednesday.
READ MORE: Prince Edward and wife Sophie visit Manitoba
The Earl and Countess of Wessex toured an aviation museum and looked at vintage airplanes in a brief, light-hearted stop in Winnipeg before heading to the Saskatchewan capital.
They touched down in Regina, where Edward inspected troops from Moose Jaw’s Saskatchewan Dragoons.
Sophie received a bouquet of flowers from five-year-old Aida Weaver, who said afterwards that she wasn’t at all nervous to meet the royal couple “because it was fun.”
Comments