King Charles and Queen Camilla touch down in Ottawa ahead of formerly opening parliament

King Charles and Queen Camilla have touched down for a whirlwind visit to Ottawa, which is already being billed as a message to President Trump that ‘Canada is not for sale’.

The couple arrived today for an historic visit to the country’s capital – the first by Charles as its head of state – to formally open parliament on Tuesday.

It will be the first time that a sovereign has undertaken the honour for 58 years and comes as Canadians are voicing their outrage at the US President’s suggestion that Canada could become American’s ’51st state’.

Their Majesties have flown over on board a Canadian Royal Air Force Airbus CC-330 Husky, specially utilised for the transport of high-ranking government officials, which was sent to collect them from the UK.

Disembarking at Hanger 11, they were greeted by two ‘Mounties’ – members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police – and a 25-strong Honour Guard from the Royal Canadian Dragoon, of which the King is Colonel-in-Chief.

In a sign of the significance of his visit, Charles was also met by not only his in-country representative, the Governor-General of Canada Mary Simon, but also the newly-elected Prime Minister Mark Carney and a wealth of dignitaries including the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, and other indigenous leaders.

Queen Camilla received a bouquet of flowers from Lila Graham, 14, a supporter of the local food bank.

Queen Camilla was wearing a pale pink fringed coat dress by Anna Valentine, with Chanel shoes.

Pinned to the front of the dress was, touchingly, the maple leaf diamond brooch given to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, by her husband, King George VI.

It was inherited by Queen Elizabeth who wore it on her first visit to Canada as princess in 1939.

There were also school groups from both Ontario and Quebec, which officials said reflected the ‘enthusiasm’ of young Canadians for the visit including Duke of Edinburgh Awards students.

Afterwards the King and Queen will spend more than hour meeting as many Canadians as possible at huge community gathering at Lansdowne Park.

Involving local food vendors and artisans, artistic performances and even a street hockey rink, the event has been designed to showcase the best of Canadian culture and give the royals the chance to speak to locals amid a packed official programme.

They will then make their way to Rideau Hall, the official residence of the Governor General and the home of the monarchy when in country.

Built in 1838, it is a ceremonial focal point for Canadian state affairs.

The King will undertake a tree planting ceremony, symbolising friendship and co-operation between nations – the fifth to be personally planted by Charles at the residence.

It will be a Blue-Beech, a small deciduous tree native to eastern North America offering a brilliant autumn display.

This will be followed by official audiences between the King and the Governor General and the Prime Minister and then an official ceremony swearing in Queen Camilla for the first time as a member of the King’s Privy Council for Canada.

Much as in the UK, it is a group of cabinet ministers, senior officials and prominent Canadians appointed to advise the monarch on issues of importance to the country which still plays a significant symbol role in Canada’s constitutional framework.

Their Majesties will also sign ‘The Golden Book’, a treasured collection of visitor signatures preserved in the library of Parliament. 

Each volume is considered a work of art.

Pomp and pageantry aside, the king will be forced to walk a political tightrope over the next 24 hours.

Although he will be on Canadian soil for less than a day for his first trip as the country’s sovereign, the monarch will require all his powers of tact and diplomacy.

For Charles, 76, has already found himself caught in the crosshairs of North America’s second war of independence. 

And he has a particularly personal stake in it, as head of state in the UK but also, separately, in Canada, whose interests he is also constitutionally-bound to uphold.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has gone so far to describe the visit as a ‘clear message of sovereignty’ – directly pitting the King against the President.

It is only the second time in 58 years that Canada’s British-based sovereign has opened its parliament, the last being Queen Elizabeth II in 1957 (with the honour normally falling to the Governor-General, the King’s representative in-country).

And the timing of the visit, which has been organised in huge haste and at the first possible opportunity after the recent Canadian federal elections, is not being seen as a co-incidence.

But Buckingham Palace is also acutely aware that the British government is resting much of its hopes for a decidedly smoother relationship with the volatile American leader on his particularly warm personal relationship with the King.

President Trump has, of course, made no secret of his admiration for the British Royal Family and is to be honoured with no less than two forthcoming visits to the UK – one state visit and another semi-private – in under a year.

Many in Canada, it is also worth noting, have found Britain’s attempts to ‘cosy’ up to the US, at Canada’s expense as they see it, as disappointing and disloyal.

So as he touches down on a Canadian governmental plane sent over especially for the occasion, the King knows full well that he is stepping into a political pressure cooker.

And it is anticipated that many in Canada – where republicanism remains a live, although not pressing issue – will be examining the fall-out closely, not least in deciding whether a constitutional monarchy continues to be more a effective and attractive option than a presidential system in the 21st Century and beyond.

However a source close to Charles has insisted to the Mail that the monarch is more than up to the job.

‘There is no other world leader like him, who is head of state of 14 countries,’ they said.

‘And yes, while it’s an interesting situation with Canada, the UK and the US, what he does have, not least because he is 76 years old and has been doing this for rather a long time, are warm, sincere personal relationships with politician leaders across the globe and across the political spectrum.

‘Setting aside inter-governmental issues, they all hold him in high personal regard.’

Royal aides acknowledge that the timing of the visit means the next 24-hours will be pitted with potential landmines.

All it will take is the actions of a lone protestor or an off-hand comment during a community walkabout to throw the entire trip off course.

But they are confident that Charles will ensure his focus remains on both the constitutional requirements of his role and his desire to use the visit as an opportunity to meet as many Canadians as possible.

The government, whose parliamentary system mirrors that of Britain, have already written his speech outlining their legislative goals for the forthcoming session, although sources say the King plans to ‘top and tail’ it with his own warm and affectionate words about the country he has now visited no less than 20 times.

He will also arrive in a horse and carriage and deliver the speech from a throne that was carved from a walnut tree grown in Windsor Great Park, part of the Crown Estate, emphasising historic Anglo-Canadian ties.

The Mail understands that Charles also plans to use the trip to raise the possibility of another more lengthy visit in the near future, health permitting, having been forced to cancel a planned trip last year as a result of his diagnosis.

It should not be forgotten, of course, that the monarch is still undergoing weekly cancer treatment, although as he himself said recently he is on the ‘better side’ of his ‘journey’.

In fact he will return to the UK on Tuesday night for his weekly session with doctors as early as the following day.

It is a sign of how much this visit means to him that he eagerly accepted the invitation by Mr Carney in what should, it is understood, have been a rare week off work.

But few understand better than the King how much rests on the next 24 hours: as he carefully navigates tensions between two former North American British colonies who took dramatically different approaches to the Crown and now find themselves, politically speaking, at war.