Category Archives: King Charles

King Charles Shades Trump Over Threat To Canada: ‘The True North Is Indeed Strong And Free’

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King Charles appeared to show solidarity with Canada amid President Donald Trump’s threats to annex the United States’ northern neighbour.

The monarch signalled support for Canadian sovereignty on Tuesday as he delivered a historic speech to the country’s Parliament that made repeated references to the ongoing tensions with the Trump administration.

Charles, who serves as head of state of the former British colony, said Canada is facing “unprecedented” challenges and that “many Canadians are feeling anxious and worried about the drastically changing world around them.”

In a thinly-veiled rejection of Trump’s stated aspiration to turn Canada into the 51st US state, Charles earned an extended round of applause when he told lawmakers that “the True North is indeed strong and free” — a reference to a line in Canada’s national anthem.

The speech came during a two-day visit to Canada by the King and Queen Camilla. The trip is widely seen as a show of support in the face of Trump’s sabre-rattling, which has included levying sweeping tariffs on Canadian goods.

Trump’s grandstanding helped propel Prime Minister Mark Carney’s centre-left Liberal Party to an unexpected federal election win last month.

The King on Tuesday was delivering a “Speech from the Throne,” an address that marks the start of a new session of the Canadian Parliament.

It’s rare for the British monarch to make the speech, which is written by the prime minister’s office, and Charles outlined the Carney government’s priorities in the address.

Charles’ mother, Queen Elizabeth II, did it twice before, in 1957 and 1977. The 76-year-old king’s commitment to Canada was underlined by the fact he made the trip while undergoing cancer treatment.

The speech itself was littered with remarks about US-Canadian relations and wider global unrest.

“We must face reality: Since the Second World War, our world has never been more dangerous and unstable. Canada is facing challenges that, in our lifetimes, are unprecedented,” Charles said in French.

Noting that Canada faces a “critical moment,” Charles said “self-determination” is one of the values “Canadians hold dear,” a clear allusion to the annexation threat.

And the King explicitly acknowledged Carney and Trump “defining a new economic and security relationship between Canada and the United States, rooted in mutual respect and founded on common interests to deliver transformational benefits for both sovereign nations.”

It was his closing remarks that are likely to be seen as the most significant.

“I wish to express to you and to the people of Canada my heartfelt gratitude, and that of my wife, for the warmth of the welcome which we have received,” Charles said. “As the anthem reminds us: The True North is indeed strong and free.”

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Am I Meant To Care About The Rich List? It Gets Harder To Stomach Every Year

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Oh look – the Sunday Times’ Rich List is out.

I am sure the fact that some billionaires are leaving the UK matters (though some have likely quit the UK after their “non-dom” status was removed; “non-doms” never paid UK tax on their overseas earnings anyway).

Perhaps I should have something to say about how the King’s private wealth has grown by £30 million in the last year; something other than “typical.”

I know I should be angry that, as Patriotic Millionaires UK writes, ”£772 billion, held by just 350 families, would cover the total cost of the UK’s annual healthcare spend three times over” – and I am, deeply.

But honestly? Reading the news just made me sad, then hopeless, then nauseous, then numb.

It is very, very hard to care about (or even digest) the financial lives of millionaires and billionaires when so many of us are struggling – just to benefit those exact people’s ever-growing wealth.

The list gets harder to read every year

Oxfam says that global billionaire wealth surged by $2 trillion in 2024 alone while the World Bank’s data says poverty has remained largely the same since 1990.

60% of global billionaire wealth comes from inheritance, monopolies, or cronyism, they add. In other words, Oxfam writes, the wealth of the majority of the people with the most money is “unmerited.”

It’s not just the 1%. Half of first-time buyers in the UK get help from the bank of mum and dad, estate agency Savills recently suggested.

Meanwhile, one in 10 Brits has no savings at all. The Equality Trust says that the “UK’s wealth inequality is much more severe than income inequality,” with the top 10% of households holding 43% of all wealth in 2020 while the poorest half owned just 9%.

Wealth begets more wealth, which in turn encourages more inequality.

To matter, wealth has to be relative, meaning that it is not enough for working people to earn more (though we generally aren’t) – the rich need to have proportionally less to stop hoarding the assets like real estate we need to live.

It is hard to see a way out of this mess, which is getting worse, without (as Patriotic Millionaires puts it) “properly taxing this wealth, to invest in our much-loved country.”

Instead, though, the Prime Minister seems more interested in mimicking the previous government’s most extreme anti-immigration rhetoric and slashing the benefits of ordinary people than tackling wealth inequality at its source (which, to be fair, is a trend that’s been happening for decades).

No wonder I can’t bring myself to care that billionaires are supposedly “fleeing”

Robert Watts, compiler of the Rich List, said: “Our billionaire count is down and the combined wealth of those who feature in our research is falling.” (We’re down nine – 156 to last year’s 165).

“We are also finding fewer of the world’s super-rich are coming to live in the UK,” he added.

But whether that’s down to Rachel Reeves’ policies or a vague sense that the increasingly underfunded UK is simply too grim to live in is besides the point – some debate whether billionaires are even good for our economy to begin with.

Instead of the exhausting, demoralising, and frankly bleak focus on the tiny few doing amazingly well, I’m with Patriotic Millionaires – we should “Prioritise the interests of Britain’s true wealth creators – our ordinary hardworking families, small businesses, entrepreneurs, teachers, health and other public sector workers…

“These people are the backbone of the British economy, many of whom haven’t seen a pay rise in 15 years. Our Government should treat the Rich List as the smelling salt it needs, wake up, and tax the super-rich.”

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Keir Starmer Dismisses Calls For Donald Trump’s State Visit To The UK To Be Cancelled

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Keir Starmer has dismissed calls for Donald Trump’s second state visit to the UK to be cancelled in the wake of his Oval Office row with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The prime minister said he was “not going to be diverted” by those calling for King Charles to withdraw his invitation to the US president.

Starmer handed over a letter from the monarch to Trump when he visited the White House on Thursday.

It is the first time ever that a US president has been granted the honour of a second state visit.

But calls have been growing for the visit to be shelved after Trump and his vice-president, JD Vance, ganged up on Zelensky on Friday.

SNP leader John Swinney said: “Right now, given [Friday’s] shocking events, it is hard to believe the visit can happen.”

Shadow home affairs minister Alicia Kearns said: “State visits should be conferred to the most honourable of allies, not to curry favour.

“No state visit should proceed until the steadfastness of the US’s commitment to her allies is assured. His Majesty should not have to carry the weight of Keir’s diplomatic failings.”

Asked about the row on BBC1′s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Starmer said: “I’m not going to be diverted by the SNP or others trying to ramp up the rhetoric without really appreciating what is the single most important thing at stake in Europe.”

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Kemi Badenoch slapped down Alicia Kearns.

He said: “Personal views of individual MPs are not official Conservative Party positions.

“In practical terms, the state visit is a matter for the King who extended the invitation, and not for MPs. As Kemi said on TV this morning, it is imperative that the UK remains close to America and they don’t disengage from Nato if we are going to get a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.”

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey also insisted the state visit should go ahead.

He said: “What we’ve said in the Liberal Democrats all along is that the state visit should be used to secure guarantees for Ukraine.

“Therefore, I think we should use every single card that we have, and I think it should be made clear to the White House that the state visit would be a genuine one, we would welcome him here, but on condition that he steps up, that the US steps up, to work with the UK and Europe to support and defend Ukraine.”

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Robbie Williams Addresses Claims He Turned Down An Offer To Perform At King Charles’ Coronation

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Robbie Williams has spoken out about rumours that he turned down the chance to perform at King Charles′ coronation.

Back in 2023, it was widely reported that Buckingham Palace was struggling to book acts to perform at a celebration event for the monarch for a variety of reasons.

At the time, it was claimed that Robbie was among those to have declined an offer to perform, which he was asked about during an interview on Watch What Happens Live on Monday.

“There was a reason,” Robbie insisted, with his wife Ayda Field reminding him from the sidelines that he was already “working” on the day of the coronation concert. “I [already had] something [booked] that I couldn’t turn down.”

“Because of money,” the always-candid Angels singer then added.

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Around the time of the coronation concert, it was reported by The Sun that Sir Elton John and Harry Styles had been top picks to perform, but both turned down the offer due to scheduling conflicts.

Prior to this, it had been rumoured that Adele had also declined the chance to perform at the coronation due to her then-ongoing residency in Las Vegas, with Ed Sheeran also supposedly missing out due to prior commitments.

However, the Shape Of You singer later claimed this was not the case, with his rep claiming he’d actually not been approached about performing.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla on the day of his coronation
King Charles III and Queen Camilla on the day of his coronation

via Associated Press

Meanwhile, the Spice Girls were tipped to reunite as a five-piece for the royal event, but this did not end up coming to fruition.

Instead, the concert featured performances from British stars like Olly Murs, Paloma Faith and Take That, while Katy Perry and Lionel Richie flew in from the US.

Katy and Lionel’s performances coincided with an unexpected cameo from King Charles and his wife Camilla Parker-Bowles on American Idol that same night, which raised eyebrows at the time.

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