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.