A royal visit steeped in symbolism

This visit by King Charles III and Queen Camilla, which culminated in him opening the 45th Parliament and delivering the government’s Throne Speech, was put together at the last minute, fit into a busy section of the royal calendar, and was over 24 hours after it began.

It may have come as a response to serious political and economic threats from the United States, but the King’s first visit as Canada’s monarch displays notable symmetry with a more long-planned visit 68 years ago, when Queen Elizabeth II’s first visit to Canada as monarch was also a brief stop in Ottawa to open Parliament.

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In 1957, the U.S. was such a cultural and economic behemoth that the Canadian government wanted to ensure that the young Queen travelled to her northern realm before going to the United States. The solution was a four-day trip to Ottawa to do something never done before: have a monarch of Canada open Parliament. Like now, the world watched every moment.

The focus on the Canadian Crown was such that when Elizabeth made her broadcast to the nation on the eve of leaving Ottawa for the U.S., she emphasized that she was going in her role as the Queen of Canada, along with her Canadian prime minister, John Diefenbaker.

In that national broadcast, the Queen made clear the importance with which she held her Canadian title: “I shall be going in other capacities, as well, but when you hear or read about events in Washington, I want you to reflect that it is the Queen of Canada and her husband who are concerned in them.”

Then as now, one pressing issue in the Throne Speeches of both monarchs was the need for “reliable trading partners and allies around the world,” as King Charles said.

He continued: “When my dear late mother addressed your predecessors seven decades ago, she said that in that age, and against the backdrop of international affairs, no nation could live unto itself.”

That both visits were also focused on one of the Crown’s most important duties helps reinforce the message that the monarchs see Canada as part of their home. “Every time I come to Canada … a little more of Canada seeps into my bloodstream – and from there straight to my heart,” the King said in the Throne Speech.

Both openings of Parliament by a monarch — 1957 and 2025 — used visual cues such as the state landau, Mounties on horseback and royal salutes to reinforce the concept of the Canadian Crown. In particular for this occasion, everything seemed to be chosen to highlight Canada’s heritage, including the red wool uniforms and pith helmets of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, which the King inspected before going into the Senate.

On Monday, the King had his Order of Canada pinned to his suit. On Tuesday, he donned the full insignia of the Order around his neck while the medals on his chest included his Canadian Forces’ Decoration with three additional service bars.

The Canadian nature of both visits extends into the realm of style. For her arrival to Canada on Monday, Camilla wore the diamond-and-platinum maple leaf brooch that has been a fixture on the lapels of royal outfits since Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother) wore it on her first visit in 1939, on the eve of the last truly existential crisis faced by Canada: the Second World War.

For the opening of Parliament, Camilla donned another maple leaf brooch, that of her regiment, the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada.

That maple leaf motif was also omnipresent in 1957. Not only were there maple leaves embroidered on the coronation gown that Elizabeth II wore to Parliament, but she emphasized her role as Queen of Canada at a state dinner by wearing a Norman Hartnell evening gown adorned with green maple leaves, which is now part of the collection of the Canadian Museum of History.

While royal styling was similar, other things were subtly different. The thrones used by King Charles III and Queen Camilla were commissioned for Canada’s 150th birthday in 2017 and designed to fit the Beaux Art setting of the temporary Senate. Their walnut frames include a piece from a tree felled outside Windsor Castle, and are adorned with sprays of maple leaves and the cypher of Elizabeth II, who was monarch when they entered use. Her son and daughter-in-law were the first to sit on them.

This 24-hour blitz also reset a regal visit clock that had stalled during the later years of Elizabeth’s reign. Her last visit to Canada was in 2010, when she was 84. Now, 15 years later, her son has completed his first trip as monarch. Already 76 and undergoing weekly cancer treatment, his reign will not reach the epic length of his mother’s, yet the King seems determined to do as much as he can, as fast as possible. This year, he alone accounts for nearly one-quarter of all official royal engagements even though he’s one of 10 working members of the family.

King Charles III will likely undertake his first visit to the United States in 2026, to mark the 250th anniversary of its independence from his great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, George III.

Already, the British press is saying that such a visit will only come after a major tour of Canada, tentatively pencilled in for next year after being delayed twice because of the King’s cancer and then Canada’s election cycle.

Visiting Canada before venturing to the United States — as Queen Elizabeth II did in 1957 — makes sense if for no other reason than loyalty. Canada kept true to its oath to the Crown while the Americans rebelled. That loyalty also flows from the monarch to Canada. As a constitutional monarch, the King has vowed to serve the interests of the people of Canada for the rest of his life. He did in Ottawa, when he came to the defence of “the country that Canadians and I love so much.”

He didn’t stop there, exhorting us to “seize this opportunity by recognizing that all Canadians can give themselves far more than any foreign power on any continent can ever take away.”