King Charles III and Queen Camilla were greeted by loud cheers from crowds of onlookers Monday on the first day of a historic visit that will see the monarch open Parliament with the Speech from the Throne.
The royal couple were met at Ottawa airport by an honour guard from the Royal Canadian Dragoons before touring a farmers’ market, where the King met vendors and dropped the puck before a children’s street-hockey game. He later held a formal audience with the Prime Minister, the Governor-General and Indigenous leaders at Rideau Hall.
The two-day royal visit was arranged hastily after an invitation from newly elected Prime Minister Mark Carney. It is being seen as a symbolic gesture of support by the King for Canada as its sovereignty is threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump’s stated wish to turn the country into the 51st state.
The arrival of King Charles is a powerful and symbolic reminder of Canada’s sovereignty
King Charles will be only the second reigning monarch to read Canada’s Speech from the Throne. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, delivered the speech in 1957 and 1977. It’s also the King’s first visit to Canada since he ascended the throne in 2022. He visited Canada many times as Prince of Wales, including on five official tours.
The couple flew into Ottawa on a Royal Canadian Air Force plane, accompanied by members of the British press. Queen Camilla was wearing a petal-pink ensemble with a diamond Maple Leaf brooch, and the King a beige suit.
They were welcomed by Governor-General Mary Simon, Mr. Carney, his wife Diana Fox Carney and Ontario Lt. Gov. Edith Dumont. Indigenous leaders, including Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami president Natan Obed, were also there to greet them.
The Globe asked people who were at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa to see King Charles and Queen Camilla what message their visit sends about Canada's sovereignty.
The Globe and Mail
The Eagle Island Singers from Kitigan Zibi First Nation performed for the occasion, accompanied by traditional drumming, as a lineup of Ontario and Quebec schoolchildren greeted the royal couple.
Delivering the Throne Speech in person is being seen as an important gesture. The speeches, setting out the government’s priorities, are usually delivered by the governor-general, the monarch‘s representative in Canada.
The King and Queen left the airport in a motorcade of black SUVs for Lansdowne Park, near downtown Ottawa on the Rideau Canal, where a large crowd had gathered, some waving small Canadian flags. The royal couple watched a short performance by Indigenous dancers as they arrived.
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Onlookers broke into spontaneous cheers as the royal couple emerged from their cavalcade. Cries of “God Save the King” drowned out a few protesters holding anti-monarchist placards, as the royal couple stopped to meet onlookers, some of whom had flown in from across Canada.
Among those who had spent several hours behind the barrier hoping to meet the royal couple was Daphne La Croix, who brought her corgi Giselle with her from central Quebec. Ms. La Croix, a francophone, said it has long been a “dream” to meet the King and Queen, and she brought the corgi knowing that it was the favourite breed of Queen Elizabeth.
“The monarchy is a personal passion of mine,” she said.
Konstantino Karafotias, 14, a keen royal watcher, flew with his parents from Vancouver specially and waited for hours to catch a glimpse of the King and Queen.
“I love the fashion, the tiaras. I watched the whole coronation. It’s the pomp and pageantry. It’s everything,” he said.
Jenna Kocik, a nurse who works in Indigenous communities, had flown in from Yellowknife to see the royal couple. Displaying a flag combining the maple leaf and Union Jack, she said the King’s visit was historic.
“I think it is important for him to come here because of what is happening politically. Canadian sovereignty is important and I think he recognizes it and he is showing that in a subtle way,” she said.
The King exchanged pleasantries with several people in the crowd, including a woman holding a baby, and another holding up a placard that said: “King Charles, I received one of your commonwealth medals – thank you.”
The King toured stalls in a swiftly assembled farmers’ market, including one run by a Syrian refugee making falafel. The royal couple were presented with maple syrup in a maple-leaf-shaped bottle by Sarah Garland, whose family makes maple products, including wine.
King Charles and Queen Camilla meet vendors from a farmers’ market in Lansdowne Park.JUSTIN TANG/AFP/Getty Images
The King and Queen stopped to admire a pile of large radishes and fresh asparagus, picked that morning, at Rochon Gardens’ farm stall.
Jonathan and Ann Marie Rochon, who grow fruit and vegetables outside Ottawa, said they had only days to prepare after being asked Friday by federal officials if they could set up a stall.
The royal couple also stopped to chat at a stall selling products from an Ontario sheep farm, including sheep‘s milk feta cheese, lamb and knitting wool. The King is the patron of the Campaign for Wool.
“The King is very interested in sheep,” said Caitlin White, who runs the farm with her husband Kyle.
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At a choreographed event, the King dropped the puck to kick off a street-hockey demonstration by local children. The two teams were coached for the special occasion by former Ottawa Senators player Chris Phillips, and professional soccer player and Olympian Desiree Scott, both of whom met the King.
Inside Lansdowne’s horticulture building, a chamber ensemble comprised of children from low-income Ottawa neighbourhoods played as the royal couple toured more stalls, including from an Indigenous enterprise teaching technological skills such as 3-D printing to young people.
King Charles participates in a ceremonial puck drop with street hockey captains Chris Phillips, left, and Desiree Scott.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
The King spoke briefly to Alex Peter, a member of the Pikangikum First Nation, a fly-in community in Northern Ontario involved in a sustainable forestry enterprise. He also met staff from the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum, who had brought along two lambs from a unique Canadian breed.
Loud cheers broke out again as the royal couple headed off in their motorcade to Rideau Hall for an audience with the Governor-General and the Prime Minister.
On the grounds of Rideau Hall, the King planted a blue beech tree, which is native to Ontario, using a ceremonial spade with the date and names of the participants engraved into it, which he held up after shovelling earth onto the tree’s roots. Queen Camilla then watered it with a green watering can. The King has visited Ottawa many times – including as Prince of Wales in 2022 – and this was the fifth tree he has planted on the grounds.
Among the hundreds of members of the public who watched the tree-planting ceremony was Jonathan Hesler, who shook hands with the King and Queen. He said the experience was “an honour.”
Mr. Hesler joined the several-hundred-strong crowd as they sang O Canada in both English and French, while others broke into a rendition of God Save the King.
Royal fans wave as they wait for the arrival of King Charles and Queen Camilla.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
Inside Rideau Hall, the Governor-General’s residence, the King held audiences with Ms. Simon and Mr. Carney.
After walking into the room and shaking hands with the King, Ms. Simon said, “Welcome home,” adding that Canadians who came to see him were very happy.
The King and Queen signed the Golden Book, a visitors’ book for VIPs preserved in the Library of Parliament.
Though not originally planned, the King also held audiences with Indigenous leaders Ms. Woodhouse Nepinak, Mr. Obed and Métis National Council president Victoria Pruden in the large drawing room at Rideau Hall.
Queen Camilla was also sworn in as a member of the King‘s Privy Council for Canada, giving her the authority to advise the monarch on Canadian issues.
With files from Abyssinia Abebe and The Canadian Press
Ballet Folkorico Aztlan performs in front of an excited crowd as they await the arrival of King Charles and Queen Camilla at Lansdowne Park on Monday.
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