King Charles makes historic speech in Canadian parliament

King Charles gave a historic address at the state opening of Canadian Parliament overnight.

His Majesty and wife Queen Camilla continued their royal tour in Ottawa on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST), with the monarch delivering a speech to the Senate chamber, becoming the first King to do so in the Commonwealth country.

It marked the second time a sovereign has opened parliament and the third time a sovereign has delivered what’s known as the “speech from the throne”.

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The previous times were addresses from Charles’ late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

The King’s grandfather, King George VI, visited Canada in 1939 and while he granted royal assent of bills when he was there, he never gave a throne speech.

Queen Elizabeth opened parliament in October 1977 and previously gave a speech from the throne – which still today has her cypher engraved on it – in 1957.

King Charles sat in the seat with “ER” (for Elizabeth Regina) emblazoned on it, with Queen Camilla in the throne to his left and Canada’s new Prime Minister, Mark Carney, on his right.

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During his address, King Charles, who is on his 20th visit to Canada, noted it has been nearly 70 years since his mother first opened parliament.

“In the time since, Canada has dramatically changed: repatriating its constitution, achieving full independence, and witnessing immense growth,” he said.

“Canada has embraced its British, French, and Indigenous roots, and become a bold, ambitious, innovative country that is bilingual, truly multicultural.”

His Majesty spoke mostly in English but also added in French sections throughout, as he announced the Canadian government’s objectives for the year ahead.

Like with the state opening of parliament in the UK, the speech is written by the politicians and delivered by the monarch as his ceremonial seal of approval for their plans.

The wide-ranging speech appeared to touch on US President Donald Trump’s threats to annex Canada as the 51st American state.

At one stage, just before the end of his address, King Charles got raucous applause for quoting part of the Canadian national anthem.

“The True North is indeed strong and free,” King Charles said, with the reaction prompting a grin on his face.

A horse-drawn carriage took Their Majesties and the governor-general to the Senate of Canada building for the speech, accompanied by 28 horses – 14 before and 14 after.

The procession gave fans a chance to get a glimpse of the monarch who, like in Australia, is officially the head of state in Canada.

Fans lined the streets, some bearing eye-catching signs, including a Team Diana one.

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Once at parliament, His Majesty received a royal salute from the 100-person guard of honour from the 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment before entering the chamber.

Following the speech, the King and Queen were heading to Canada’s National War Memorial to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

That formally marks the end of the two-day visit, with Their Majesties returning to the UK.

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