King Charles arrives in Canada for whistlestop visit amid country's tensions with Trump

King Queenoff their whistlestop trip to Canada, which has been described as a sign of strength and support for the country amid a war of words with . The royal couple landed in Ottawa this evening marking the first time that Charles has been on Canadian soil since he became King and head of state of the country.

The King and Queen were greeted by Canadian Mounties and flag waving schoolchildren. The Queen wore a pale pink fringed Anna Valentine coat dress, Chanel shoes and, in a diplomatic nod to her hosts, a diamond maple leaf brooch, which was originally a gift from King George VI to the Queen Mother.

Almost a dozen dignitaries waited to greet them at the bottom of the steps of the plane and among those waiting in the beaming sunshine included newly elected Prime Minister Mark Carney and his wife, Diana, who the King greeted warmly and kept a prolonged handshake.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

Representatives of Canada's First Nations communities were among the welcoming party, including Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, who was wearing a rare treaty medal that was given to one of the original signatories of Treaty 2 - which established land reserves, education and other provisions for the First Nations.

Cindy showed the King the silver medal, which show two people shaking hands and were a gift given on behalf of Queen Victoria to the 9 First Nations who signed the treaty - one of which was her ancestor, Chief Richard Woodhouse.

Fourteen-year-old Lila Graham from Carleton Place, Ontario, who since the age of four has asked for food bank donations in lieu of birthday presents, presented the Queen with a posey of flowers. "They’re beautiful," she said while the King enquired about the Coronation medal pinned to her navy blue dress.

In March, Lila became one of the youngest recipients of the III Coronation medal for her community service, having helped secure over 771kg (1,700lbs) of donations for Lanark County Food Bank. The King and Queen, who flew from the UK earlier on Monday, then went over to listen to an Algonquin group playing drums.

Speaking to Governor General Mary Simon, Charles said "the drum has a lovely skin on it", before going on to greet dozens of schoolchildren from Ontario and Quebec who had gathered to greet the royal couple.

One of the school groups comprised of pupils enrolled in the Duke of Edinburgh Award, a youth achievement programme that encourages personal development and was founded by the King’s father, , in 1956.

After shaking as many hands as they could, the King and Queen got into the waiting car and headed to their next engagement at Lansdowne Park.

There, the crowd shouted "Welcome home," "Welcome to Canada" and "God save the King" as Charles and Camilla shook hands at the community hub. Mr Carney and his wife acted as hosts to show their royal guests around with crowds shouting out "Mr Prime Minister" and shaking the newly-elected leader's hand.

Annie Riendeau, 50, from Montreal, showed Charles a tattoo of his late mother's cipher EIIR on her inner forearm and told the King: "I'm going to get one for you too, soon." Judy McNally, 64, from Ottawa showed Charles and Camilla a home-made sign which showed pictures alongside the on her visit to the country in 2011 along with the message "I met your daughter-in-law!".

As they made their way along the barriers, shaking hands with members of the public, they were told variations of "thank you for coming" and "thank you so much for coming", interspersed with anecdotes about how people had met his late mother during her previous visits.

Some shouted "God Save The King", and a group sang an acapella version of the UK national anthem. A small number around a dozen protestors stood behind the crowds, with a sign reading "Charles is not my King and neither is Mark Carney".

The King and Queen stopped for a few moments to talk to one of her regiments, the Queen's Own Rifles of which Camilla is Colonel-in-Chief. She told them she was very pleased to see them.

One woman said she had "goosebumps" after meeting the couple, having waited from 9am to secure her place in the crowd before finally seeing the King and Queen at around 2pm. Heather Dorward, 46, told the King she had met the late Queen Mother when she was in Toronto as a schoolgirl. The King responded by telling she his grandmother "was amazing".

Charles was invited to make a ceremonial puck drop before the couple moved inside into the Horticulture Building. There, they split with Charles visiting stands for Whitefeather Forest, La Tablee des chefs, and Canada Agriculture and food museum where he saw a lamb. The King and Queen went on to tour a small number of market stalls set up by local producers.

He asked staff running a falafel stand about their background in and about their recipes, and praised Purebread Bakery for its use of "local origin heritage grains". At the Garland Sugar Shack, a member of the Royal Household purchased a two bottles of maple syrup for the King and Queen to take hom with them.

Inside, the King and Queen toured a selection of stalls from local charities, organisations and schools. The King was given an update about the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance's land use strategy, and spoke in French to La Tablee des Chefs about their work with students who were putting together bags of "solidarity soup".

At a stall for Ingenium, a collection of three national museums, he was introduced to a Canadian Arcott sheep and a man riding a stationery bike to demonstrate how it takes 13 people riding one non-stop to power one average Canadian home. The King was particularly interested in hearing about the sheep, which is considered a Canadian breeding success story, and said that he was "proud to be" a champion of wool.

At a table for the Red Cross, he said: "I'm trying to keep up with First Aid. The problem is if you don't use it, you forget it." Before they departed for Rideau Hall, Charles and Camilla watched as Orkidstra, a youth orchestra, performed Hymn to Freedom by Oscar Peterson. The King and Queen then spent time speaking to some of the young musicians before joining their motorcade to depart.

Later today, the King will hold audiences with 's first indigenous Governor General, Mary Simon, the King's representative in Canada, Prime Minister Mr Carney, and there will be a short ceremony to swear in Camilla as a member of the Canadian Privy Council. Charles and Camilla's events will conclude today with a short reception for lieutenant governors from Canada's 10 provinces and the territorial commissioners from the three territories.

The trip comes in the wake of verbal aggression from U state of America, prompting outrage. When new when Canadian PM Mr Carney met Trump at the White House in the days after his election victory last month, he told him in no uncertain terms Canada is "not for sale".

However, the unprecedented trip, which will be Charles' first to Canada as King, will also see him walk a diplomatic tightrope. He faces the difficult task of balancing his duties as Canada's head of state and his role in Keir Starmer's attempt at maintaining strong relations between the UK and the US.

The centrepiece of the trip to Canada will be tomorrow (Tuesday) when Charles and Camilla will attend the state opening of parliament, similar to the UK parliament's opening ceremony but without the formality or royal regalia found in Britain. They will travel to the state openingin the 1902 State Landau carriage, while Charles will sit on a throne carved from a walnut tree from Windsor Great Park.

The late Queen was the first sovereign to deliver a speech at the state opening of the Canadian parliament in October 1957, her first visit to the country as head of state.

During their two-day trip, Charles will become only the second monarch, after Queen Elizabeth II, to attend the state opening of Canada's parliament and deliver the speech setting out the government's legislative agenda. Charles will be delivering the words of the Canadian government, similar to a UK State opening of parliament, but commentators will be looking for any veiled references to Trump.

The King is travelling with his wife less than a month after former Bank of England governor Mark Carney's Liberal Party election victory, fuelled in part by its opposition to the US leader.

Mr Carney's rival, populist Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, was in the lead until Mr Trump took aim at Canada with a trade war and threats to annex the country as the 51st state, comments denounced by the ex-governor. A spokesperson commenting about the trip has said: "The King and Queen are very much looking forward to the programme, mindful that it is a short visit but hopefully an impactful one."

Steven Guilbeault, Canada's minister of identity and culture, said: "His Majesty's delivery of the Speech from the Throne to open the 45th Parliament is a momentous occasion, one that brings Canadians together in celebration of our rich history, our democracy and the institutions that serve us all.

"This visit offers an opportunity to showcase the special relationship between Canada and the Crown, while also highlighting the strength, diversity and unity that define us on the stage."