In the coming weeks and months Charles faces a complex schedule of inward and overseas visits, possibly now including a trip to Canada and hosting Donald Trump at Windsor Castle, that will test his fabled soft power and ability to bring people together.
It will be up to the politicians to sort out the policy details but they hope Charles can help set the tone and ease the trade war by walking a diplomatic tightrope, championing the competing interests of Britain and Canada, where he is also head of state, while charming Trump.
Queen Elizabeth II with Donald and Melania Trump at Windsor Castle during the US President’s visit to the UK in 2018 (Photo: Steve Parsons/AFP)
This is a possibility but nothing has been agreed yet. It remains unclear whether a mooted trip to Windsor Castle then would be the second state visit he was offered by the King via Sir Keir Starmer in February or a private preliminary meeting originally envisaged to take place at Balmoral or Dumfries House, two of the monarch’s residences in Scotland.
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But with the Atlantic alliance under pressure and Trump’s America no longer considered a reliable ally by many in Whitehall, Britain is also anxious to strengthen even further its post-Brexit ties with its closest European neighbours. So the King is also juggling an invitation to France’s president Emmanuel Macron to come to the UK for a state visit. Despite reports that Macron is coming at the end of May, The i Paper understands that is likely to happen later.
All will become clearer after the results are known but there is now a growing expectation among politicians and commentators in Ottawa that the King, who had hoped to visit the country in the spring of last year until his cancer diagnosis, will make his first visit to Canada as monarch this year.
‘Royal tour would help unite the country’
Charles and Camilla with members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Pictou during their visit to Canada in May 2014 (Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)Charles would need to be invited by whoever leads the new government – Carney or his Conservative rival Pierre Poilievre – for a visit to be considered formally but it is looking increasingly probable. Two possible dates are obvious choices: the opening of the new parliament in Ottawa on 26 May or Canada Day on 1 July.
After a period in which opinion polls suggested many Canadians were unenthusiastic about the monarchy, the country’s two main political parties and many of their supporters have become increasingly appreciative of an institution that provides some sense of stability and makes their country distinctive from its southern neighbour. One poll earlier this week found 54 per cent of Canadians would prefer Charles as their head of state, compared to only 15 per cent who wanted Trump.
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“Once the election has taken place, both the Conservative and Liberal leaders would welcome King Charles III opening parliament and celebrating Canada Day with Canadians, especially in the current political climate where American President Donald Trump has threatened Canada’s sovereignty.”
“I know there was talk about having the King open parliament. I think that would accomplish major goals: one, it would remind Canadians about the role of the Crown and two, it would show a certain president south of the border that we are a sovereign country with King Charles III as our head of state.
“And quite frankly a Royal tour would also help unite the country after what has been a divisive election campaign. Depending on the outcome of the election, we might really need that push for national unity.”
Canadian PM and Liberal leader Mark Carney during a campaign rally in Laval, Quebec. Carney has seen a sharp rise in polls since Donald Trump’s tariffs kicked in (Photo: Andrej Ivanov/AFP)
But then Trudeau resigned, Trump became US President and began threatening Canada, and Carney – a Harvard and Oxford-educated technocrat – was chosen by his party as the new prime minister, vowing to resist Trump.
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In January, a Nanos poll had the Conservatives on 47 per cent, way ahead of the Liberals on 20 per cent who looked to be facing a wipeout after two years of trailing badly in most measures of public opinion. But the same pollster had the Liberals leading by 8 per cent last week, while others have predicted a slightly more modest victory for Carney, 60, and his party.
The King too knows Carney well from his time at the Bank of England. Indeed the Liberal leader’s older brother, Sean, works for the Prince and Princess of Wales as the chief operating officer of their household at Kensington Palace.
Carney, as a UN special envoy for climate action and finance, assembled the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, a group of bankers, insurers and investors to help achieve those goals, in the aftermath of the COP26 UN climate change conference hosted by Charles in Glasgow in 2021.
Charles’s subtle support for Canada
The King delighted monarchists in Canada last month by wearing his Canadian medals when he helicoptered out in naval uniform to visit HMS Prince of Wales in the Channel (Photo: PO Phot Rory Arnold/Ministry of Defence/PA Wire)He has been keen to signal his support for Canada in a time of turmoil but because he must leave the tough talking to the politicians, his championing of the country has been more subtle.
He has worn his Canadian medals and decorations, or a red tie for Canada on occasion, while the Princess of Wales wore a red outfit for Canada on Commonwealth Day. A maple was chosen as a tree to be planted at a ceremony in Buckingham Palace.
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A senior Palace official said: “His Majesty cares very much about all of the countries where he has the privilege of being King and head of state. He’s always supported Canada, there is nothing new in that.
“What could perhaps otherwise be simply be seen as normal expressions of support do seem to be being noticed a little more. But showing support for Canada is something he’s always done and that he will continue to do.”
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