Royal visit a 'historic moment' for Canada and King Charles

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In Ottawa's Lansdowne Park, those gathered in the enthusiastic crowd on Monday reached out, trying to shake hands or grab a selfie with King Charles and Queen Camilla.

In the grounds of Rideau Hall, a spontaneous rendition of God Save the King filled the air after Charles and Camilla completed that most royal of royal duties: planting a tree.

And in the Senate Tuesday, those listening broke into applause as Charles wrapped up his main task as Canada's head of state on a whirlwind trip to the country, drawing the speech from the throne to a close by saying, "As the anthem reminds us: The true north is indeed strong and free."

The trip, which had unfolded in a highly charged political climate for the country after repeated annexation taunts from U.S. President Donald Trump, wrapped up with a sense that it was a historic moment for both the country and the monarch.

"I think it is going to go down as one of the most successful royal visits," royal historian Justin Vovk of McMaster University in Hamilton said in an interview.

The trip that brought Charles and Camilla to the country's capital for just shy of 24 hours "hit the mark everywhere it has needed to," Vovk said.

"Everything from the moment they got off the plane, the people chosen to meet them, the inclusion of not just the chief of the National Assembly of First Nations, but also Indigenous musicians, Indigenous young people, and having high schoolers and Canadian youth get to meet him — the visit to Lansdowne Park was a huge, huge success."

That time in the park Monday gave Charles and Camilla the opportunity to meet — very briefly — a wide range of Canadians. The enthusiasm of the crowd gathered there was palpable.

"There was a great deal of warmth from the Canadian people gathered in Ottawa to greet the King and Queen," Toronto-based royal author and historian Carolyn Harris said in an interview.

"There was spontaneous singing of God Save the King and O Canada at the tree planting at Rideau Hall. And on Tuesday, amidst all the cheering, there were a few people who shouted, 'Thanks for coming.'"

Harris sees it all as "a very historic moment that was greatly appreciated by the thousands of Canadians who came to see King Charles and Queen Camilla during their time in Canada."

As much as the visit was ostensibly to Canada, there is little doubt that organizers knew it would be scrutinized beyond the country's borders, particularly in Washington. But it would also be watched in the United Kingdom, where trade and other priorities can at times differ from those of Canada.

"I think the U.K. government will be broadly happy with it, but it all depends on the response, if any, from the White House," Craig Prescott, a constitutional expert and lecturer in law at Royal Holloway, University of London, said in an interview.