OTTAWA - A ceremony to proclaim the accession of Britain's King Charles will take place on Saturday in Ottawa, the office of Canada's governor general said on Friday.

The ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) at Rideau Hall, the official residence of the British-appointed governor-general, who acts on behalf of the monarch.

Charles, 73, automatically became king of the United Kingdom and the head of state of 14 other realms, including Canada, when his mother, Queen Elizabeth, died on Thursday at age 96.

Although Canada ceased being a colony of Britain in 1867, it remained in the British Empire until 1982, and is still a member of the Commonwealth of former empire countries that have the British monarch as head of state.

(Reporting by Steve Scherer; Editing by Caitlin Webber and Cynthia Osterman)