Britain’s King Charles III will travel to Canada in the coming days for a brief but “impactful” visit, at a time when President Donald Trump is floating the idea of making his northern neighbour the 51st US state.
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The 76-year-old monarch, who is also Canada’s head of state as part of the Commonwealth, has never publicly commented on the ambitions of the US president, a noted admirer of the royal family.
Despite battling cancer for over a year, Charles accepted an invitation from Canada’s newly appointed Prime Minister Mark Carney to deliver the “speech from the throne” at the reopening of parliament on May 27, outlining the new government’s priorities.
Queen Camilla will accompany him on the 24-hour visit to the capital Ottawa.
“The King and Queen are very much looking forward to the programme, mindful that it is a short visit but hopefully an impactful one,” a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said as the couple’s May 26-27 itinerary was released this week.
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The throne speech is expected to draw close scrutiny, especially on sovereignty and trade, amid Trump’s renewed rhetoric about annexing the country of 41 million and his recent imposition of higher tariffs.