The House of Windsor would scarcely be more Canadian right now if it wrapped Buckingham Palace in a Maple Leaf flag, held a rooftop concert with Celine Dion and Justin Bieber and replaced its horses with moose.
The Duke of Edinburgh is due to arrive today (Friday, 2 October) as part of a five-day tour of North America, just over a year since his last visit.
The Duke of Sussex fell to his knees to kiss Canadian soil after making a parachute jump to keep his promise to a veteran he met in Toronto last year.
The King spoke to the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, on 9 September and the Prince of Wales called him less than two weeks later.
Coincidence? Well, yes and no.
On the one hand, the King's call is merely one he routinely makes to heads of Commonwealth realms. Prince Edward's tour will have been planned months ago, in tandem with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. Prince Harry does his own thing, regardless of what the rest of the royal family does.
Prince William's call is intriguing. There are no details in the Court Circular of what was discussed and it is not unusual for William to check in with Commonwealth leaders, but it wouldn't flabberghast me if he were planning a visit to Canada. He hasn't been since his tour with Catherine in 2016 and one is surely overdue.
On the other hand, this does add up to a Canada charm offensive at a time when the realm finds itself with a neighbour from hell. It remains entangled in a thorny trade dispute with the US and less than a month has passed since President Donald Trump posted an image, on his social media platform Truth Social, of Canada, along with Greenland and Iceland, under the American flag.
Royal soft power in action
This is when the royal family really comes in useful, exercising soft power in a way that republics can only dream of.
Edward is visiting both the US and Canada, thus forestalling accusations of being anti-American, just as he did with two separate trips to each country in 2025. His support for the Duke of Edinburgh International Award means that he has a reason to travel to both countries, and indeed is attending D-of-E events in Baltimore, Washington DC and Ontario.
© GettyIt keeps the royal hand in following the King's 24-hour trip in May last year at a time when his cancer treatment was more intense than it is now. His throne speech, opening a new session of parliament, was a clear statement of support at a time of adversity: "The Crown has for so long been a symbol of unity for Canada. As it should, it stands proudly as a symbol of Canada today…"
As the King noted, it was his 20th visit to Canada. It is even more than his mother's tally of 18 visits as a princess or a queen, making Canada the country she visited most.
As the King has said on more than one occasion: "Every time I come to Canada… a little more of Canada seeps into my bloodstream – and from there straight to my heart."
The royal connection to Canada, as well as Britain's strategic alliance with it, is as strong as ever.
