U.S. President Donald Trump holds a letter from King Charles III during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Feb. 27.CARL COURT/AFP/Getty Images
King Charles III sent a handwritten invitation to Donald Trump Thursday to come to Britain for a state visit, even as the U.S. President calls repeatedly for the annexation of Canada.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivered the invitation from the King, who is also the monarch of Canada, during an Oval Office meeting at the White House.
Mr. Trump described King Charles as a “beautiful man, a wonderful man” and said he and his wife, Melania, would be delighted to visit Britain as a guest of the monarch.
“We look forward to being there and honouring the King, honouring the country,” he said.
NDP MP Charlie Angus criticized the King for writing a personal invitation to the President, who has been questioning Canadian sovereignty.
“We have our figurehead King inviting Donald Trump to the U.K. so the U.K. could cut a better deal while leaving Canada on its own,” Mr. Angus said Thursday. “Why do we have this guy on any of our money if he thinks our nation isn’t worth standing up for?”
Mr. Angus said Canadians shed blood in the First World War and Second World War for Britain and it’s unseemly for King Charles to get involved in politics when he is supposed to be monarch for Canada and other Commonwealth countries.
“Canadians were the ones who kept England from disappearing under the Nazis. We put a lot of our blood defending the British Crown,” he said. “I find it absolutely appalling that now he is stepping into politics in a very forward way when he is supposed to sit on the sidelines, while Trump is threatening our sovereignty as a nation.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office did not have an immediate response to the King’s invitation.
Robert Finch, chair of the Monarchist League of Canada, said the British Prime Minister would have made the request for the King to issue the invitation. “Remember, Britain, the same as ourselves in Canada, is a constitutional monarchy and not ruled by an absolute king,” he said in an e-mail.
Mr. Starmer told Mr. Trump that this would be the President’s second state visit to his country, which he described as “really special” and “unprecedented.” No date has been set for the visit.
At a later joint news conference at the White House, Mr. Starmer was asked by a reporter if he raised Mr. Trump’s desire to annex Canada and whether King Charles has expressed any concern about the President’s talk of taking over the country.
“You mention Canada, I think you are trying to find a divide between us which doesn’t exist,” Mr. Starmer said as the President interjected, saying “that’s enough.”
Mr. Trump had high praise for Mr. Starmer – unlike the potshots he’s taken at Mr. Trudeau, whom he has derided as governor of the 51st state. He’s also said “Justin’s a loser, always has been,” saying he “destroyed” Canada.
Mr. Trump remarked that the British Prime Minister is “a special man – and the United Kingdom is a wonderful country that I know very well, I’m there a lot.” He also talked about the golf courses he owns in the country.
Mr. Trump said Britain, France and Australia were great allies but made no mention of Canada.
During his first term, Mr. Trump met with Queen Elizabeth II in July, 2018, and again during an official state visit in June, 2019. The President also went to Buckingham Palace for a NATO summit in late 2019.