Governor general appointee meets with King Charles ahead of swearing-in

King Charles III holds an audience with Louise Arbour upon her appointment as Canada's governor-general, at Buckingham Palace in London on June 3, 2026. (Yui Mok / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Louise Arbour, Canada’s next governor general, has met with King Charles III ahead of her swearing-in next week.

The meeting, which is a traditional formality, took place at Buckingham Palace in London on Wednesday, according to a post from the Royal Family’s official Instagram account and the Governor General’s official social media.

She was also invested as extraordinary Commander of the Order of Military Merit and Commander of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces.

This is King Charles’ first appointment of a Canadian governor general since he took the throne in 2022.

The governor general is the King’s representative in Canada, a constitutional role that includes serving as commander-in-chief while representing Canada at home and abroad.

Arbour will officially be appointed as the 31st Governor General of Canada on Monday in the Senate Building.

The Montreal native, who is fluent in English and French, is a former Supreme Court justice who has also served as UN human rights commissioner and chief prosecutor at The Hague.

The 79-year-old was chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and made history when she became the first to indict a sitting head of state, former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic, for crimes against humanity.

The meeting with the King happened on the same day as Parliament held a farewell gathering to current Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, which was attended by Prime Minister Mark Carney.

With files from The Canadian Press