Are Canadians ready to welcome King Charles III?

By Alejandro Melgar, Charlie Carey, and Shilpa Downton

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, her son has ascended to the British throne, but is the world ready to welcome King Charles III as the new monarch?

King Charles III has spent his entire lifetime in the public eye, and with much scrutiny.

The King was wed to Princess Diana in 1981, but issues arose in the marriage due to incompatibility, according to The Diana Chronicles by Tina Brown.

Charles had an affair with Camilla, Queen Consort, in 1986. She was a married woman at the time.

Diana made the affair public in Andrew Morton’s book Diana: Her True Story, which says Charles has had a long-term affair with a married woman. Four years after his affair was made public, Charles and Diana divorced.

The royal family treaded carefully on the matter of Charles and Camilla, as there were public perceptions of Camilla as the “third person” that ruined the marriage between Charles and the beloved princess.

A year later in 1997, Britain and the world over grieved as Princess Diana died in a car crash.


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University of Calgary history professor John Ferris told CityNews there will be a divide when it comes to people supporting the new king.

“Now for Canada, the death of Elizabeth is going to be the first time most Canadians have seriously considered what they want their future relationship with the monarchy to be,” Ferris said. “Elizabeth had been around so long that I think very few people in Canada wished her gone, or really wanted to raise the question of what our relationship would be in the future.”

However, Ferris believes his popularity could grow simply because of his new position and power.

“Charles is an odd character in some ways, but it also has to be said he’s a bright man who has had some success in a career and who now finally is going to be head of the royal family,” Ferris said. “So, what will happen in Britain will be different than Canada. But it’s certainly possible that Charles will be able to raise his stature and public opinion.”

Charles was born in 1948 to Queen Elizabeth II, then Princess Elizabeth, and Prince Phillip. The young prince of three years became the Duke of Cornwall after Elizabeth acceded to the throne in 1952. He then became Prince of Wales at 20.

The Monarchist League of Canada says people should give King Charles III a chance, and note they may be “Pleasantly surprised at how he performs as a king and for the good of Canada.”


READ MORE: Monarchist league hopes Canadians give King Charles III a chance


The regional coordinator for Western Canada, Keith Roy, says King Charles has spent his entire life preparing for this moment, and is well-positioned to take over from the Queen.

“It’s not like we don’t know who Charles is. No one has trained longer to be King than Charles — his entire life he has been training to become the King,” Roy told CityNews.

Ferris credits the “Long and dutiful” work of Queen Elizabeth II, saying there’s no doubt she has left a bank of support for her successor.

However, he adds that Canadians support of the monarchy has largely been out of loyalty to Queen Elizabeth II, and not necessarily the royal family.

“Elizabeth managed to create a presence in Canada miles apart, because she stood alone, partly to keep the crowd alive — which is an issue for Canadians. What we’re dealing with is our personal response to a kind of political strategy of the royal family,” Ferris said

Ferris says that it’s ‘Almost impossible” to bring about any constitutional change to Canada regarding the commonwealth, and he believes the former Queen has laid the groundwork to build support for the new King.

King Charles III spoke in his first public address since the Queen died on Friday, and he says British values have remained “constant” despite challenges and changes over the late Queen’s 70-year reign.

He says the nation and its “wider realms” prospered during his mother’s time on the throne. The new monarch says he was brought up to “cherish a sense of duty.”

Charles says he will try to rule with “loyalty, respect and love” and is pledging to uphold the United Kingdom’s constitutional principles.

-With files from Sylvia Hui, The Associated Press, The Canadian Press

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