King Charles is “very conscious” of his global responsibility and unique diplomatic role, and is determined to put that to use, a royal source said, after his meeting with the Canadian prime minister on Monday.
Charles met Justin Trudeau at his Sandringham estate in Norfolk, a day after he received the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The king was praised for offering a show of solidarity to Zelenskyy by welcoming him after his turbulent meeting with Donald Trump and his vice-president, JD Vance, at the White House on Friday.
Diplomatic efforts on behalf of Ukraine have intensified as Keir Starmer warned Europe’s leaders they stand at a “crossroads in history” and urged them to join his “coalition of the willing”.
Trump has hit out at calls from European leaders for the US to provide security guarantees for any Ukraine peace deal.
A royal source said: “It has been six days of royal diplomacy at its most delicate, deliberate and nuanced.
“His majesty is very conscious of his responsibility globally, regionally and nationally – and passionately engaged in all the detail.”
The source added: “As a global statesman and a head of state for both the UK and Canada, the king’s role is highly significant, and his majesty is determined to play his part, within appropriate parameters.
“His role by necessity and constitutional obligation is to offer symbolic gestures, rather than express comment.”
Although the king must remain politically neutral, he is able to advise and warn his ministers – including prime ministers – when necessary.
The source described the king’s audiences with Zelenskyy and Trudeau as “routine but highly significant, given the global context”.
Details of what is discussed at private audiences are not shared by Buckingham Palace, but it is understood that the challenges Canada faces with the US as a result of Trump’s incendiary rhetoric were high on the agenda, as was support for Ukraine.
The king, who has invited Trump for an unprecedented second state visit to the UK, is increasingly being seen as a unifying figure despite the turmoil on the world’s political stage, through the royal family’s so-called soft-power diplomacy.
The audiences required “high-level engagement and high-level sensitivity”, the source said.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to make Canada the 51st state of America, claiming that without a massive subsidy from the US it “ceases to exist as a viable country”.
Trudeau, who flew to London to join the emergency defence summit of European leaders at the weekend, had said he would raise his concerns on the matter with Charles, who is the king of Canada.
Trump has vowed to impose tariffs on imported goods from Canada and Mexico from Tuesday, citing concerns over border crossings.
Source: theguardian.com
