Perfidious Albion

by Eduardo del Buey

Perfidious Albion

Can the Canadian monarchy survive after British Prime Minister Kier Starmer visited Washington this week?

As many of you are aware, King Charles III is not only the King of the United Kingdom but also serves as Canada’s constitutional monarch.

The King and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer have thrown Canada under the bus, making me question the Canadian monarchy's future.

During his press conference with Mr. Trump, Mr. Starmer chose not to comment on U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated suggestions to make Canada the 51st state. Trump then completely interrupted the U.K. leader’s response.

Starmer was asked whether he or King Charles III was concerned about Trump’s rhetoric toward a Commonwealth member after a visit to the White House, which included several meetings on topics such as trade and the war in Ukraine.

The British leader mentioned that Canada was not part of those discussions and aimed to highlight the longstanding friendship between the United Kingdom and the United States.

“I think you’re trying to find a divide between us that doesn’t exist,” Starmer said.

While in the Oval Office, Mr. Starmer presented Mr. Trump with a letter from the King inviting the U.S. President to an unprecedented second state visit to the U.K. later this year.

This is the highest honor the British government can grant a foreign head of state, and for Canada, the timing could not be more inappropriate or insulting.

Mr. Trump immediately accepted, prompting me to wonder if King Charles, as Canada’s head of state, made a strategic error by prioritizing his role in the U.K. over his responsibilities in Canada during this country’s time of existential crisis.

Canadians are not taking this lightly. Twice in the last century, Canada fought to defend the United Kingdom from German aggression. They did so years before the U.S. entered either world war, at the cost of thousands of lives. Canadians have consistently embraced the monarchy and historically supported this constitutional arrangement.

King Charles III now faces a conflict: defending British interests while balancing Canadian interests. He appears to have sided with the Americans and the British at a huge cost to his Canadian subjects.

Can he survive this untenable situation?

I don’t believe so.

Support for the monarchy in Canada is already low. In 2024, opinion polls indicated that between 19% and 23% of Canadians preferred to remain a monarchy, compared to nearly 50% who favored an elected head of state. In short, the Canadian monarchy has already been slipping into irrelevance in the eyes of most Canadians. Starmer’s disappointingly weak meeting with Trump and the King’s poorly timed invitation are not helping.

So, what’s next?

Will the new Canadian Prime Minister, who takes office on March 9, face a serious constitutional crisis when the new government is sworn in?

Will Canadian public opinion drive the Canadian government to respond strongly to this development? Based on initial reactions on social media, it appears likely.

Will the Canadian monarchy survive?

There is no precedent for this and no protocols to guide both sides.

This development could redefine Canada as we know it.

The constitutional issue poses another potential challenge together with the current U.S. onslaught against Canadian sovereignty.

Stay tuned!