'It's all about symbolism': The tight-lipped Royal Family is sending a message with its trip to Canada
OTTAWA — As an institution that has for centuries employed symbolism with surgical precision, the timing of the King's visit to Canada may be more revealing than the itinerary itself.
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It's considered a core principle of the British constitutional monarchy that the ceremonial head of state of the United Kingdom, Canada and other Commonwealth countries not comment on or become directly involved in politics. It's also a key component in trying to maintain the public's trust.
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So symbols often substitute in the Royal Family's world where words are absent and could be considered to be on the wrong side of a delicate balancing act. When reliable Commonwealth loyalist Canada came under economic and political attack in recent months from U.S. President Donald Trump, for example, King Charles III stayed quiet.
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Instead, he and Queen Camilla sent symbolic support across the Atlantic, planting a red maple tree at Buckingham Palace.
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But the King and Queen are sending a clear message in support of Canadian sovereignty, said Thomas Morin-Cabana, the national chairman of The Crown Society of Canada. Earlier this year, Trump had made repeated references to annexing Canada and often called former prime minister Justin Trudeau the governor of the 51st American state.
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'It's all about symbolism,' said Morin-Cabana.
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Prime Minister Mark Carney indicated as much when earlier this month he announced the monarch's visit, with a clear nod to the Trump threats.
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'This is an historic honour that matches the weight of our time,' he told reporters during his first press conference after the election.
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The Royal couple's two-day visit to Canada this week is their first since Charles assumed the throne following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September 2022. The visit will also mark the first time that a monarch has read the speech from the throne in the Canadian Parliament, instead of the Governor General, since 1977.
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The speech, which normally lays out the government's broad goals, will be delivered at a delicate time in Canada. The country faces a housing crisis and a teetering medical system, while the economy is threatened by ballooning government debt, sluggish growth and ongoing tariff threats from the south. Carney has said that Canadians shouldn't expect things with the U.S. to return to how they used to be any time soon.
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