King Charles Will be in Canada this week. Well, it’s more like Charles and Camilla will be in Canada for about 24 hours, which Buckingham Palace claims is keeping it “short and sweet.” Considering Charles hasn’t stepped foot in Canada in years – and especially not since he became king – I find the length of trip to be sort of insulting to Canadians. Like, the point of this visit to show that Canada is “not for sale” and that Canada has her own alliances with the British crown and British commonwealth. Shouldn’t there be more of an emphasis on that alliance? I guess not. Anyway, the palace is briefing like crazy about how Charles is god’s gift to Canada because he’s breezing in for 24 hours.
The King’s visit to Canada will mark an important moment in the country’s history. A palace source described the visit as “a diplomatic tight rope” but one that Charles “knows how to walk”. And the mission? To deliver “soft power with significant impact”.
The world’s media and no fewer than four sketch artists will be there to capture the raison d’être of the trip: the King’s speech, delivered from a throne that was carved from a walnut tree grown in Windsor Great Park. Canadians believe that Charles’s presence, accompanied by military honours and gun salutes for the King of Canada, will send a “powerful” message that Canada is not, and never will be, America’s 51st state.
With so much at stake, the country is taking ownership of the visit, right down to some rather personal details. The King will travel with a Canadian doctor as the palace has been told that his UK physician will not be able to practise there. A senior Canadian government official said: “A British doctor does not have the authority to operate or to practise here in Canada. Therefore, there is a Canadian doctor that assists and is there in case there would be a medical emergency with their majesties or any member of the British party.”
For years Charles has kept fit by following a regular morning daily exercise routine set out by the Canadian Air Force. Now, that very air force will be flying the King to Ottawa. Along with the Canadian doctor, there will be an entourage of Canadian equerries and aides to accompany Charles on his first visit as monarch.
The King and Queen will travel to the Senate in the 1902 State Landau along the city’s historic Wellington Street with 28 horses from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride, 14 in front and 14 behind.
Although Charles will be in the country for less than a day, the Canadian government, together with palace aides, have nevertheless devised a series of engagements to demonstrate what it means to be a Canadian today. It is a whistle-stop programme, described by a source as “short, sweet”. The King is said to be mindful that his time in Canada is limited but is “very much looking forward” to it and hopes it will be “impactful”. He will shake as many hands, inspect as many troops and have as many photocalls as possible.
The palace also claims that the trip has been “planned for a long time” – bullsh-t. They threw this together after Mark Carney was elected prime minister (and Carney was elected specifically to stand up to the meth house in the basement, the United States). I also doubt that Charles is going to drop into Ottawa and be exclusively staffed by Canadians – please, he can’t go anywhere without his cadre of British sycophants. It’s probably true that the Canadians will give him a Canadian doctor for the trip though. If you’d like a less royalist read on the situation and the brevity of the visit, Politico Europe had an interesting piece where they suggested that Charles wanted to skedaddle out of Canada quickly so as to not anger the small-r republicans and royal agnostics within Canada.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
