King Charles and Queen Camilla head to Canada House to mark 100 years of the country’s embassy in London

The King and Queen continued with their busy week in the capital today – heading to the Canadian Embassy to help the North American country mark 100 years of having an official residence in London. 

Charles and Camilla, who were at Chelsea Flower Show on Monday, arrived at Canada House on Pall Mall in bright sunshine today to help Canadian officials in the UK celebrate the centenary of Canada House, which first opened in June 1925.

The King will ‘reinforce the power and the strength of the message’ to Donald Trump that ‘Canada is not for sale’ when he visits the country next week, one of the country’s most senior diplomats has said.

Visiting the country for the first time as monarch, the King and Queen will travel to Ottawa on Monday to open the country’s parliament in what is being hailed as an extremely significant signal to the US President from its head of state.

Ahead of their visit, Charles and Camilla toured Canada House – the headquarters of the country’s mission in the UK – on Trafalgar Square where they were shown a giant map of the country’s historic sites.

Ralph Goodale, the High Commissioner for Canada in the UK, said afterwards that Their Majesties visit would be significant.

Mark Carney, newly elected prime minister of Canada, told the US President that Canada was not for sale following Trump’s comments about the country becoming the 51st state.

Goodale said: ‘The prime minister has made it clear that Canada is not for sale not, is not for sale ever, and I think he probably added five ‘nevers’ after that to make the point.

‘The King as head of state will reinforce the power and the strength of that message and it is as I said before captured in our anthem. We are the true north, strong and free and we will stay that way.’

Charles and Camilla were welcomed on the steps of the building by two Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers before being shown inside to view a giant floor map of the country.

‘It’s brilliant, it really is,’ said Charles as he walked across the map. ‘I wish I could bring it every time I go to Canada to remind myself where I’m going and where I’ve been.’

The King and Queen split up as they were shown points of interest. Charles was shown the Torngat Mountains and Wood Buffalo national park where wood bison are being reintroduced.

Goodale pointed out Churchill in Northern Manitoba on the map and told the King: ‘I had my first audience with the [late] majesty in 2021 and she was speaking very fondly of visiting Churchill and seeing the polar bears.’

He went on to point out the 1.2km land border between Canada and Denmark at the top of the map.

The Queen, wearing a cream crepe silk dress, in a floral print by Fiona Clare, was shown an area near Montreal and said she’d visited the area in Quebec previously on a family holiday saying ‘it was lovely’.

Point to an area on the map, Robert Fry, the deputy high commissioner, told the Queen: That was also where the battle of Quebec was fought when the British took over Canada from the French.’

The map features other sites of interest including battles fought during the 1812 war between the US and Britain, although these were not explicitly pointed out to the King and Queen.

During a reception area where they greeted High Commission staff and Lyse Doucet, the Canadian-born chief international correspondent for the BBC.

Their visit marks the 100th anniversary of Canada House, which was opened in June 1925.

Following in the footsteps of George V, who opened the building a century ago, Charles was presented with the key to Canada House.

Echoing the key given to his great grandfather, which was cast in Canadian bronze, silver and nickel, the King was given a key created by Morgan Asoyuf, an Indigenous Ts’myen Canadian artist.

Standing on a stage to present the key to Charles, Goodale said: ‘m’Your presence here today launches your journey to Canada next week. This will be your 20th visit but your first as reigning monarch.

‘Your dear mother Queen Elizabeth II often said to the delight of Canadians that a journey to Canada felt like coming home. We hope that you feel exactly the same way.’

Speaking after the visit, Chief Perry Bellegarde, a first nations advocate and Honorary President of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.

Bellegarde said that the King’s ‘throne speech’ at the opening of parliament next week was ‘a huge deal’.

He said: ‘To have the head of state, the monarch, come, is huge. And to read the speech from the throne sends a very strong message that Canada is an independent sovereign country.’

Queen Camilla, 77, clearly inspired by her horticultural adventures at Chelsea, looked elegant in a white floral-pattered mid-length dress today. 

The royal accessorised the look with a three-tiered string of pearls, pearl drop earrings, and a blue Van Cleef & Arpels’ Perlée clover bracelet, alongside a cream leather handbag.  

Meanwhile, the King, 76, donned a pale grey suit with a zebra patterned tie for the occasion, sporting a pink checked pocket square and a maple leaf pin badge in a nod to Canada’s flag.

They chatted to some of the country’s famous red-suited Mounties, with one member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) towering above the monarch as he offered a salute – which saw both men break into smiles. 

The King was given the key to the embassy, echoing the set cast in Canadian bronze, silver and nickel offered to King George V upon the official opening in 1925.

The new centenary key was designed by Indigenous Ts’myen Canadian artist Morgan Asoyuf. 

Later in their visit, the King and Queen viewed a special exhibition on the history of Canada House designed for its centenary, in the High Commission’s dedicated exhibition space, Canada Gallery. 

There was the chance too to view a giant floor map created by The Royal Canadian Geographical Society with Parks Canada, which depicts Canadian National Parks, National Historic Sites and National Marine Conservation Areas. 

The royals were again spotted chatting to red-uniformed Mounties as they left Canada House following their visit this afternoon. 

Charles is Canada’s head of state and will be travelling to the country with his wife less than a month after former Bank of England governor Mark Carney’s Liberal Party election victory.

Mr Carney’s rival, populist Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, was in the lead until US President Donald Trump took aim at Canada with a trade war and threats to annex the country as the 51st state.

Buckingham Palace revealed plans for the trip in the first week of May, saying: ‘The King and Queen will visit Canada from Monday 26th to Tuesday 27th May.

‘The King, accompanied by the Queen, will attend the state opening of the Parliament of Canada, in Ottawa.’

Earlier this week, the King and David Beckham chatted like old friends as they met up again at the Royal Horticultural Society’s world-famous Chelsea Flower Show on its pre-opening day.  

It was the first time the former England football star had ever visited the show – but he was dressed to perfection in a beige blazer, grey trousers and suede loafers.

Notably he was wearing a particularly stylish accessory: a new ‘King’s Rose’, named in honour of the monarch, in his buttonhole – which Camilla quickly noted, and called ‘beautiful’. 

They met outside the Highgrove gardens stand, which raises funds for the King’s Foundation, the charity set up to build sustainable communities and preserve heritage arts and crafts, of which Beckham is now an ambassador.

It was also revealed that their friendship has taken an astonishing new turn, after it emerged tonight that the monarch sent the star a 50th birthday gift. 

Standing outside the Highgrove stand run by the monarch’s charity, the King’s Foundation, Beckham greeted the sovereign warmly and said: ‘Your Majesty, it’s so nice to see you’.

Astonishingly, Charles then appeared to ask whether the star had received the birthday present that he and his wife had sent.

‘You got it, didn’t you?’ he asked.  

‘It was incredible,’ beamed Beckham delightedly, ‘thank you, it was very kind.’

Camilla, wearing a green leaf print dress from Fiona Clare London, added: ‘Nice to see you again, glad you got the roses.’

Beckham told the Queen of his recent celebrations that he had enjoyed a ‘perfect’ and a ‘busy’ weekend, ‘which was ‘a lot of fun’.

Footballer Beckham has been spotted at a rapidly increasing slew of royal events in recent months – including a private visit to Highgrove last May – and is said to have fallen out with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. 

The latest royal meeting comes just days after reports that the Sussexes had David’s eldest son Brooklyn and wife Nicola Peltz over for dinner in their Montecito mansion. 

Sources claimed previously that the Sussexes were said to be ‘secretly supporting’ the couple because of their ‘similar family feuds’ – after they were a noticeable no-show at the footballer’s 50th birthday celebrations earlier this month. 

Last May, His Majesty met privately with Beckham at Highgrove, his private Gloucester home, and subsequently invited him to a high-profile dinner, along with his wife, Victoria, at the mansion a few months later.

The couple were also surprise guests at Buckingham Palace for a state banquet to mark the visit of the Emir of Qatar, setting the seal on their extraordinary rise in the royal court.

Last week, the Princess of Wales also wore a suit designed by Victoria Beckham for a British Fashion Council event.  

Although the pair have met on several occasions over the years, and Beckham is particularly friendly with Prince William – having fallen out with Prince Harry in recent years – Charles was particularly touched in 2023 when the star brought a jar of homemade honey from his Cotswolds estate and gave it to him at a fashion even in 2023.

This evening, Beckham also visited the London Square Chelsea Pensioners Garden, where the work of King’s Foundation furniture making alumni Lily Hitchcock and Hannah Evans was featured as the table centrepiece. 

The royal couple stood with David and gardening legend Alan Titchmarsh – another ambassador for the King’s Foundation – as the stand’s shopfront was ceremonially unveiled with the opening of a theatre-style pair of Sanderson-designed curtains, reflecting a partnership between the interior design house and the charity.

The shop, adorned with floral displays created by Shane Connolly, the designer behind the flowers at the Coronation, is stocked with items for sale to raise funds for the charity, which celebrates its 35th anniversary this year, and the King and Queen spent a few minutes inside browsing with the charity’s retail director Scott Simpson.

Camilla was particularly taken by a Burberry trench coat lined with fabric designed by Helen Bullock, a graduate of the Royal Drawing School, while the King was drawn to a set of fine china mugs with a retro ‘God Save the King’ design.

The King and Queen had been greeted at the showground’s entrance by Keith Weed, President of the Royal Horticultural Society.

They were accompanied by the Queen’s daughter Laura Lopes, her sister Annabel Elliot and the Queen’s Companion the Marchioness of Lansdowne.

Also in the entourage were the Marquess and Marchioness of Cholmondeley, David and Rose Hanbury.

The Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Snowdon, Princess Beatrice and Princess Michael of Kent were also among showgoers at the preview evening for the week-long show.

The King and Queen began their visit at the RHS and BBC Radio 2 Dog Garden, designed by Monty Don with dogs in mind.

Featuring grass areas for pets to enjoy and a large tree providing shade, the brick paths are inscribed with the names of beloved pets, including Monty’s dog Ned.

The Queen patted Monty’s dog Ned and the royal couple were shown bricks in the path engraved with the names of their own dogs – the King’s Lagnotto Romagnolo, Snuff, and the Queen’s adopted Jack Russell terrier Bluebell and her new puppy Moley, along with Beth, another much-loved rescue dog who died last year.

‘We have a scruffy lawn,’ said the TV gardener, gesturing to the grass which was strewn with dog toys.

Following this week’s show, the dog garden will be moved to Battersea Dog & Cats Home, of which Camilla is patron.

The King and Queen then parted ways to visit different gardens, with the monarch admiring the ferns at the British Rainforest Garden, designed by Zoe Claymore for the Wildlife Trust, of which he is patron.

Designed to evoke the wet woodlands that once covered Britain’s west coast, it is inspired by the Trust’s mission to bring rainforests back to the British Isles.

Meanwhile the Queen visited the London Square Chelsea Pensioners Garden, designed by Dave Green, which will be located at the Royal Hospital Chelsea to provide an accessible and secluded space for different generations to socialise or reflect.

It aims to reflect the 300-year-old heritage of ‘a home for soldiers broken by age and war’ and encourage visitors to stay active in older age.

Along the main concourse, the King stopped to chat to garden designers, including Tom Massey and Je Ahn, whose Avanade Intelligent Garden uses AI to monitor the growth and resilience of urban trees.

He then stopped at The King’s Trust Garden: Seeding Success, supported by Project Giving Back.

Designed by Joe Perkins, which is inspired by the more than one million young people supported by the Trust since it was founded nearly half a century ago.

Showcasing seeds which flourish in a hostile environment, it draws parallels with the resilience of young people who have overcome adversity with the right support.

The garden will later be transferred to Uxbridge College to be maintained by young people enrolled on King’s Trust programmes.