King Charles and Queen Camilla embody Britain's special bond with Canada
King Charles III and Queen Camilla will be in Canada next week. They'll be visiting the nation's capital, Ottawa, between May 26-27. While they've both visited Canada on previous occasions, this is their first visit to my country since the Coronation. Their two-day itinerary is fairly packed, all things considered.
The King and Queen will greet the troops of Canada's senior-most armoured regiment, the Royal Canadian Dragoons, on May 26. They will attend a community gathering at Lansdowne Park open to the general public, and be part of a ceremonial tree planting.
They're scheduled on May 27 to ride down historic Wellington Street in the 1902 State Landau, an early 20th century horse-drawn carriage owned by the United Kingdom and used by the British monarch on visits to Canada.
His Majesty will also be delivering the throne speech for prime minister Mark Carney's Liberal government in the Canadian senate. This is the main reason for the Ottawa trip, and it's of great historical significance. It's the first time this has happened in Canada since 1977, when his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, honoured our country in the same fashion.
It's nice to see that our two countries are paying a considerable amount of attention to this Royal visit. No-one is suggesting their usual comings and goings are ignored, of course! But when Charles and Camilla travel abroad and participate in goodwill tours, the people and the press will generally have a light awareness and little else. Why is it seemingly different for Canada?
There could be a few reasons. Charles and Camilla are putting themselves in front of the public eye for a good cause, which certainly helps attract interest and attention.
Carney's invitation to King Charles to deliver the throne speech on behalf of his Liberal government – a good public relations move on his part, to his credit – has created a heightened awareness of this special visit and an appreciation of the historic bond between Canada and Britain.
King Charles III has always had a soft spot for Canada and its beautiful landscape, too. It began with the young prince's first trip to the Great White North in 1970. The Globe and Mail observed at the time: 'He had never been in North America before, but he appeared totally at ease.' He has since visited many Canadian cities, communities and provinces, including the Northwest Territories. He famously went ice diving in 1975, living up to the nickname the press gave him for a spell: 'Action Man.'
Charles wrote about this watery excursion in his journal: 'There were fascinating ice crystal formations and icicles suspended under the ice and inside the layers of these wafer thin crystal structures were large white shrimp like creatures.'
There was also his highly publicised 1983 trip to Canada with Princess Diana, a ski trip to beautiful Whistler, British Columbia with Prince William and Prince Harry, and his first visit with Camilla in 2009.
The latter excursion was of special interest to Her Majesty, who has Canadian roots. They visited Dundurn Castle in Hamilton, Ontario, which is where her great-great-great-grandfather, Sir Allan Napier MacNab, lived when he was joint premier (or prime minister) of the Province of Canada between 1854-1856. The ties that bind, indeed.
Best wishes to King Charles III and Queen Camilla on their trip to Canada. Rest assured that Canadians, Brits and others around the world will be watching with interest.
Michael Taube was a speechwriter for former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper
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