King Charles III was officially proclaimed King of Canada on Saturday at a ceremony in Ottawa.
Charles automatically became king When Queen Elizabeth II Died on Thursday. but as Celebrations in the United Kingdom A few hours ago, the accession ceremony in Canada marks an important constitutional and ceremonial step in introducing the new monarch to the country.
King Charles is now the head of state in Canada, a former member of the British Commonwealth of Colonies.
“Canada enjoys a long history and close friendship with His Majesty King Charles III, who has visited our country several times over the years,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement.
“On behalf of the Government of Canada, we reaffirm our allegiance to the new King of Canada, His Majesty King Charles III, and extend our full support to him.”
Charles’ visits over the years have attracted sparse crowds.
Although Canadians are somewhat indifferent to the monarchy, many were deeply attached to Elizabeth, whose silhouette depicts their coins. She was head of state for 45% of Canada’s existence and visited the country 22 times as monarch.
Overall, there is little anti-royal movement in Canada, which means that Charles will almost certainly remain King of Canada.
One reason is that abolishing the monarchy would mean changing the constitution. This is an inherently risky undertaking, given how delicately it has been engineered to unite a nation of 37 million people, who are English-speaking, French-speaking, indigenous tribes and a constant flow of new migrants. embraces.
“Politically, I think there is no appetite for any sort of constitutional upheaval,” said Robert Bothwell, a professor of Canadian history and international relations at the University of Toronto.
Trudeau attended the ceremony where the Chief Herald of Canada read out the proclamation on the accession of the new sovereign.
Also attending was Governor General Mary Simon, who is the representative of the British monarch as head of state, a mostly ceremonial and symbolic position. She is an Inuk and the first indigenous person to hold the position.
A 28-member band from the Canadian Armed Forces played “God Save the King” during a 21-gun salute. Canada’s national anthem marked the end of the ceremony.