Charles travelling to Canada for first time as King - but faces huge opposition
The King will travel to Canada next spring marking his first visit to a realm where he is monarch since his coronation - but is being prepared to face protests after polls suggest the country is turning against the monarchy.
Charles will be accompanied by the Queen for the tour in May, which is expected to last a week. Officials have been working closely with the King’s aides to devise a plan for the trip where the royals will come under as little opposition as possible.
Sources with knowledge of the planned visit have revealed initial discussions have “raised concerns” over the reception the King and Queen will receive. Insiders said those responsible for the trip are “acutely aware” it is likely to be “a huge test of his popularity”.
Recent polls in Canada showed more than 81 per cent of people say they don’t feel attached to the monarchy, compared to 14 per cent who said they did. Before his coronation in May, Canada’s national broadcaster CBC led with polling suggesting 60 per cent are against Charles being recognised as King of Canada.
Data from the Angus Reid Institute also said just 28 per cent say they have a favourable view of Charles, while nearly half - 48 per cent - do not. In September this year, The Leger Survey showed that about 81 per cent of respondents said they do not feel attached to the monarchy, compared to just 14 per cent who said they did.
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The survey also showed 63 per cent of Canadians believe the country should “rethink ties to King Charles III”. Charles’s ascension to the throne following the death of Queen Elizabeth II last September reignited a debate across the 14 Commonwealth countries - often referred to as the 'Realms' - where the British monarch remains the head of state. These include Canada, Australia and Jamaica.
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles arrive at Frobisher Bay on Baffin Island during a visit to Canada in July 1970 (Getty Images)Following the decision by Barbados in 2021 to sever ties with the monarchy, politicians in Jamaica as well as Antigua and Barbuda have signalled firm intent to follow suit. The republican movement across Australia, New Zealand and Canada is also gathering pace, while citizens are openly questioning why the monarch has not visited their countries since he took office.
Discussions have taken place to carefully select a country for the King and Queen’s first major tour to realm where he is monarch, following the Prince and Princess of Wales’ disastrous tour of the Caribbean in 2022. William and Kate were accused of being wildly out of step across Belize, Jamaica and The Bahamas as they were met with protests and rode in an open top Land Rover that delivered unsettling optics of a throwback to colonialism.
A source said the planned engagements would “reflect the feeling in the country”, adding that there were “very real fears of protests affecting future visits” across the realms. However, a palace source said: “The King has always been very open that he will continue in his role as head of state across the Realms for as long as he is wanted.”
Catherine attending a reception at Calgary Zoo on July 8, 2011 (Getty Images)
Kate and William during their visit to Calgary, Canada (WireImage)One inside with knowledge of the plans said Canada had been chosen as a “safe space” for the King and Queen, but the country hasn’t always been entirely welcoming of the royals. In 2011 Prince William and Kate faced protests against their visit to Canada within minutes of their arrival in Montreal.
Demonstrators held up placards denouncing the couple as “parasites”, although they were heavily outnumbered by people cheering the couple. Royal visitors have had an uncertain welcome in Quebec province – where more than 80% of the population speak French – in recent decades. The Queen has not returned to Quebec City since protesters turned their backs on her and booed in 1964, and in 2009 Prince Charles and Camilla were held up by scuffles between demonstrators and police as they visited Montreal.
The monarch, alongside the Queen, last month made his first visit to a Commonwealth country, with a four day tour of Kenya. Earlier this year, at the behest of the government, the couple made state visits to Germany and France as a show of solidarity and diplomacy with our closest political neighbours.
The King and Queen are due to travel to Australia in October, which would mark their second visit to an overseas realm where Charles is monarch. Buckingham Palace did not comment
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