As his younger son conducts an attention-seeking trip to China, it was King Charles, addressing Canada’s House of Commons and Senate, who showed how a calm, dignified approach to public life pays far greater dividends than empty point-scoring. The King has been a popular and welcome figure in Canada since he arrived with the Queen on a brief visit yesterday; the enthusiastic greetings from tens of thousands of Canadians was no mere piece of theatre. Charles’s oft-forgotten status as King of Canada has been foremost in people’s minds, thanks to the carefully and adroitly handled pageantry surrounding him, but it was his set-piece speech in the Senate in Ottawa that was the most anticipated aspect of his appearance. It did not disappoint.
The King has sent a clear message to the White House on behalf of all Canadians
Charles is the most naturally gifted public speaker in the royal family – a legacy, perhaps, of his amateur theatricals at Cambridge – and he has excelled over the course of his reign in delivering fluent, apparently heartfelt and affecting addresses. There was a certain amount riding on the so-called ‘Throne Speech’. Not only is he the first monarch to have delivered it in nearly half a century (his mother made the last one in October 1977), but he addressed the Senate for the first time since the 1982 Constitution Act, which gave Canada the right to self-govern without any interference from the British monarchy, was passed. And, of course, Canada now has a new prime minister in the form of the Anglophile Mark Carney.
If the King was in any way daunted, he did not show it. He began his speech by saying that ‘every time I come to Canada, a little more of Canada seeps into my bloodstream and straight to my heart’. He took care to praise the country’s kindness, rich heritage, keenly held national values and multiculturalism: all subjects close to the monarch’s heart – and, one could infer, things that he would like to discuss more freely and openly in his home country, too.
There was an affecting nod to his mother and her opening of the Canadian parliament in 1957 – when, as he said, the war was a ‘fresh, painful memory’. There was also a carefully veiled dig at Donald Trump over the border, who he will soon (perhaps reluctantly) be hosting for a state visit. Charles said:
Today, Canada faces another critical moment. Democracy, pluralism, the rule of law, self-determination, and freedom are values which Canadians hold dear, and ones which the government is determined to protect.
Even though the King was then quick to suggest that US-Canadian relations were as important as ever, saying that they were ‘rooted in mutual respect and founded on common interests, to deliver transformational benefits for both sovereign nations’, it was still clear where his loyalties and interests lay. The idea that Canada remains ‘strong and free’ was especially pointed.
Much of the King’s speech was admittedly boilerplate in nature, dealing with the priorities for Carney’s government. While issues of housing shortages and border security are undeniably important for Canadians, these were sections where it was apparent that Charles was doing his job, rather than something that he was personally invested in.
He concluded his address with the words, ‘May you honour the profound trust bestowed upon you by Canadians, and may God bless and guide you in all your duties’. The standing ovation that he then received felt as if it was imbued with genuine warmth and respect. The King has sent a clear message to the White House on behalf of all Canadians, and, for his own part, he has demonstrated something similar to his troublesome son: this is how statesmanship is done.
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