An unusual sight north of the border. The BBC asks the question that we all were about yesterday’s events, “Why is King Charles in Canada, and what is the throne speech?”
The answer, it turns out, is that Charles is not only King of England. He’s King of Canada, too.
In fact, his official title up north reads,
Charles the Third, by the Grace of God King of Canada and His other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth.
Elsewhere it reads,
Charles the Third, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of His other Realms and Territories, King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.
Charles, age 76, is king of some 14 independent nations, most of which you’ve heard of. [I had to look up #14.]
The speech, of course, is part of the ceremonial opening of the new session of parliament. The BBC previewed the event,
The pomp and pageantry will be on full display when King Charles arrives in Canada for the first time since his coronation.
He is due to deliver the Speech from the Throne to open the 45th session of Canada’s parliament in Ottawa on Tuesday.
More remarkably, he is the first sitting monarch to fulfill this duty since his mother in 1977. In London, Charles delivers the speech from the U.K. House of Lords, as the monarch is barred from entering the House of Commons.
In Ottawa, the speech was delivered in the Canadian Senate chamber.
To put things into perspective, I’ll quote Lt. Frank Drebin from the 1988 movie Naked Gun,
Protecting the Queen’s safety is a task that is gladly accepted by Police Squad. No matter how silly the idea of having a queen might be to us, as Americans we must be gracious and considerate hosts.
