Rent Obligation Under Charter
Under the charter forming the Hudson's Bay Company, the company was required to give two elk skins and two black beaver pelts to the English King, then Charles II, or his heirs, whenever the monarch visits an area that was formerly Rupert's Land. The ceremony was first conducted with the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VIII) in 1927, then with King George VI in 1939, and last with his daughter, Queen Elizabeth II in 1959 and 1970. On the last such visit, the pelts were given in the form of two live beavers, which the Queen donated to the Winnipeg Zoo in Assiniboine Park. However, when the Company permanently moved its headquarters to Canada, the Charter was amended to remove the rent obligation. Each of the four "rent ceremonies" took place in or around Winnipeg.
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