King Charles: ‘Canada will remain strong and free!'
King Charles sent a strong message to Donald Trump about Canada’s sovereignty in his ‘Speech from the Throne’ in Ottawa.
Britain's King Charles III delivers the Speech from the Throne during the opening the first session of the 45th Parliament of Canada at the Senate of Canada in Ottawa on 27 May 2025. Picture: Aaron Chown/POOL/AFP
International correspondent Adam Gilchrist joins 702’s Bongani Bingwa.
Listen below:
King Charles III has delivered a ‘speech from the throne’ to open Canada’s parliament.
This is only the third time this annual speech to open parliament has been delivered by a British monarch rather than a representative of the Crown.
“Neither he nor his mother, Queen Elizabeth III, has done it for more than 50 years.”
- Adam Gilchrist
In his speech, he emphasised the importance of Canada’s sovereignty in ‘dangerous and uncertain’ times, and described the country as 'strong and free'.
This comes amid threats from US President Donald Trump to make Canada the '51st state'.
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“The new Canadian Prime Minister figured better the devil you know than the devil that is just next door, and asked King Charles to deliver the speech.”
- Adam Gilchrist
King Charles, in his speech, warned that the world was a more dangerous and unstable place than it has been at any point since World War II.
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