King Charles and Queen Camilla have arrived in Canada to support the country as it fends off Donald Trump
The British monarchy landed in Ottawa, at the start of a two-day for a symbolic visit. It is being seen as bringing a message of support for the country in the face of threats and taunts from US President.
Prime Minister Mark Carney met the royal couple on the airport runway in Canada’s capital.
Carney has hailed the King as a “steadfast defender” of Canada in the wake of Trump’s threats to its economy and sovereignty.
BBC reports: In warm afternoon sunshine, in front of a forest of Canadian flags, the King and Queen were greeted with a mix of a ceremonial guard and community gathering.
There were red-jacketed Royal Canadian Mounted Police and crowds of schoolchildren to meet the King and Queen, with an accompanying band playing tea dance music.
Representatives of Canada’s First Nations communities were among the welcoming party, including an Algonquin group playing drums.
The King and Queen, on their first visit to Canada since the start of their reign, will go on to a community festival, before a formal meeting with Prime Minister Carney.
But the main purpose of the visit is the King’s “Speech from the Throne” to Canada’s Parliament on Tuesday, the first time a monarch will have delivered this for almost 50 years.
It is expected to include a defence of Canada’s sovereignty and to reject claims it should be taken over by the US.
The King is following in the footsteps of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, who delivered the speech in 1977 and opened Canada’s Parliament in 1957.
The timing of this week’s visit has been seen as a sign of solidarity with Canada, after calls from Trump for the country to become the 51st US state.
The US threat has inflamed public opinion with some businesses in Ottawa, as elsewhere in Canada, putting on displays of national identity such as “Proudly Canadian” posters.
Carney, when he visited Trump at the White House earlier this month, stressed that Canada was “not for sale” and that message is likely to be conveyed in the King’s speech which is written on the advice of Canada’s government.
Former Canadian high commissioner to the UK Jeremy Kinsman said this was a message the King will be pleased to deliver.
“It’s going to be very affirmative of Canadian sovereignty. And I can say personally that it’s something that King Charles will celebrate saying. I have no doubt,” said Mr Kinsman, who worked as a diplomat with the King when he was Prince of Wales.
The speech, to be delivered in French and English, will set out the Canadian government’s policy agenda in a way that is similar to the King’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament in Westminster.