Britain's King Charles III and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney look on during the opening the first session of the 45th Parliament of Canada at the Senate of Canada in Ottawa on May 27, 2025. Britain's King Charles III is heading to Canada 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. 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 U.S. president, a noted admirer of the royal family. Credit - Blair Gable/POOL—AFP/Getty Images King Charles III is not just monarch of the United Kingdom, he is also the putative ruler of 14 other Commonwealth realms—including Canada. In that role, he paid a heavily freighted visit to his northern realm this week to deliver a message to the leader of the republic to the south. In an act of prime ministerial ventriloquism, Prime Minister Mark Carney had Charles deliver Canada's throne speech, a ceremony in which elected politicians sit humbly in the presence of a ceremonial figurehead who reads words written by the politician who is actually in charge. Normally, this duty is discharged by the governor general, a Canadian who represents the monarch in Canada. Mary Simon—Canada's first Indigenous governor general—would, in the normal course of events, read the speech in a little-noticed event in the sleepy Senate chamber. But these are not normal circumstances. Rather than having Simon do the job, Carney had Charles and Queen Camilla fly in, travel to Parliament Hill in a horse-drawn carriage behind an honour guard of Mounties in a show of regal pageantry not seen in the capital since Charles' late mother, Elizabeth, opened Parliament in 1977. Charles's presence in Ottawa was unusual. It was his 21st trip to Canada, but the first time in which he appeared in Parliament to kick off a parliamentary session with a throne speech. There was a happy and friendly crowd there to greet the royal visitors, breaking out into impromptu rounds of "O Canada" as they waited for the royal procession, but the monarchical fever has not spread far beyond the parliamentary precinct. Most Canadians have apathetic, if not negative, feelings about the monarchy, an institution that seems increasingly distant as the country's cultural links to Great Britain grow weaker. Apoll this weekfound that 83% of Canadians "don't really care," about Charles's visit. But the seemingly archaic constitutional structures suddenly looked useful to the people running the country. Because President Donald Trump has beenthreateningto annex Canada, something that he seems to believe was possible given Canada's comparatively small military, Canadians have been by turns fretful and intent on showing their resolve. Inevitably, they looked for support from the mother country, home of their head of state. But UK Prime Minister Kier Starmerhas been criticizedfor repeatedly failing to speak up for Canadian independence. His ministersapparently pleadedwith Canada to keep Charles from saying anything that might damage the relationship with the UK. But Charles is the king of Canada, as well as the UK, and Starmer could not have stopped him from going, even if he wanted to do so. When Starmer himself visited the White House in February, hunting for a trade deal, his perfunctory gift was an invitation from the King for Trump, whodescribedCharles as a "beautiful man, a wonderful man." Having observed Trump's taste for all things gold and royal, Carney used Charles to send a clear signal to Trump: the King is with us. Charles, who is strictly limited by long constitutional tradition on what he can say about anything political (practically nothing) repeatedly demonstrated his support for Canada withcoded symbols—at least until he could show up in person and deliver the message in person. Carney, speaking through Charles, acknowledged that "many Canadians are feeling anxious and worried about the drastically changing world around." Through his presence, Charles reminded Canadians that Canada has a different, and independent, constitutional tradition. Through his words, he sent a signal to Trump, who Carney likely hoped was paying attention. "We must be clear-eyed: the world is a more dangerous and uncertain place than at any point since the Second World War," Charles said, switching easily between English and French. "Canada is facing challenges that are unprecedented in our lifetimes." There followed a recitation of Carney's to-do list—including faster approvals for energy projects and an ambitious home-building program—before he circled back to deliver the main message again: "As the anthem reminds us: The True North is indeed strong and free." The words came from Carney, but the Canadians were hoping that the intended recipient of the message, in the White House, will get the message: Canadians don't want to be annexed. Early in his second term, Trump seemed to hope for a groundswell of annexationist sentiment north of the border. However, there are now indications that Trump has realized that his northern neighbours would like to stick with their royal, perhaps albeit antiquated, traditions—and with their sovereignty. Ina tense but successful visitto the Oval Office earlier this month, Carney pointed out that some properties never go on the market: "We're sitting in one right now, Buckingham Palace that you visited, as well. And having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign the last several months, it's not for sale, it won't be for sale, ever." Trump responded by saying "never say never." But his new ambassador to Ottawa, Pete Hoekstra,has saidthat his marching orders have nothing to do with annexation, which suggests the American president may be ready to move on. It would be foolish to predict how Trump will respond, or whether he will even notice, but Canadians and their monarch have done what they could to send the American president a clear message about their sovereignty. Canada already has a King, and it's not Trump. Contact usatletters@time.com.
