CTV News royal commentator Richard Berthelsen joins Vassy Kapelos to debrief on the royal visit and the significance of the throne speech from King Charles amid threats to Canadian sovereignty.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
As the anthem reminds us.
The true north is indeed strong and free.
If there was one moment in the 27 minute throne
speech delivered by historically delivered by King Charles the Third
(00:22):
yesterday that stands out it is that one, the pronouncement
that Canada, of course, in referencing the true North is
indeed strong and free, drew a round of applause from
the people who had gathered in the Senate.
Chamber as you can hear there, to talk a little
bit more about the visit and the delivery of the
throne speech, even the throne speech uh itself. We are
joined live on the line by Richard Berthelsen, our royal
(00:45):
commentator here at CTV News and, and more specifically our
expert on all things, uh, Royal and the crown. Richard,
it's so great to have you on the program. Thank
you for making the time.
Glad to be here. You were with us all through
it yesterday and you were so helpful in your analysis.
I thought, uh, I, I could pick your brain even
more today now that we've had a few moments to
reflect on the visit as a whole. Uh, first of all,
(01:06):
on the 24 hours, it was quick, but I feel
like it had an impact. What is your sense?
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Absolutely it was a hugely impactful visit and I think
it was hugely impactful because it was his first visit
as king and because it came at the moment in
our history that it does, you know, where we have
a really serious threat, a threat which obviously continued after
the throne speech because we saw more social media action
from the White House. But you know, I think Canadians
(01:33):
have been wanting to know where the king stood on
this issue, particularly as he has been put in a
very delicate position.
By Prime Minister Starmer asking the king to host a
state visit. So I mean, I think it was a
real legitimate question for people to understand how this works.
The crown is a subtle and delicate institution. It does,
it's not there for huge political statements or political negotiations,
(01:58):
but I think people really wanted the king to put
his thumb on the scale, and he
did that yesterday in that.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Yeah, expand on that if you could a little bit
because it was a very thoughtful balance I thought, right,
of a few, like I mean a throne speech, not
normally highly consumed is is delivered by the governor General
in the words of the government, right? It's about their
agenda more often than not, and this was all that,
but it also
Kind of was bookended by a little bit of his own, uh,
(02:26):
you know, he put his own flair on it, in
particular referencing his mom and and some of her words
and then that clip that we played. What did you
think of the balance that he struck in addressing the
greater issue that you point to without further antagonizing it
or attempting to not further antagonize it?
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Yeah, I mean, I think all those are all those
are right on. The king had, by my count, if
I'm reading it, you know, between the lines deconstructing, I'd
say about 10 paragraphs at the beginning and maybe 2
or 3 at the end, that that he maybe had his,
his fingerprints on. Let's remember though, never forget this speech
is the responsibility of the Prime Minister, and he has
(03:04):
to defend the speech in the House of Commons and ultimately,
you know, there'll be a confidence motion on that speech.
But I, I do think there were 9 or 10
comments there. I think it's extremely, also very important that
the land acknowledgment was given by the king directly. That
is probably one of the first times that's happened in
our history. There was a number of references in the
(03:25):
king's words to reconciliation. And then, of course, we have
this really, what I think is a very powerful, very
simple statement at the end, you know, where the king
clearly says,
You know that Canada is true north, strong and free,
and he added, of course, the word indeed to that.
(03:47):
So it was not just the anthem, but the true
North is indeed strong and free. I think that was
extremely pivotal.
Um, and of course, as you know, that was the
moment the, the audience in the Senate chamber reacted to,
and that really was, I think, a set of words
that people wanted to hear. And of course, those words
are very significant to Canadians because we sing it all
(04:09):
the time in our national anthem. And let's be honest,
we've been singing that national anthem a lot more loudly
in the last few days. Also interesting, just as a
side note, of course, that is emblazoned, the true North
strong and free is emblazoned on the aircraft.
that flew the king to and from England. So, you know,
that is a very interesting set of
(04:30):
coincidences.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Yeah, that factoid and many others are in a wonderful
piece on our website if you're you're listening and you
have a moment on CTV News.ca that Richard wrote that
really encapsulates kind of the speech and the visit and
all the things that you need to know about it.
Beyond the speech itself, Richard, because you have, you know, you,
you have such an expertise in what goes into planning
all of this in all of the
(04:52):
Uh, protocol involves, uh, I wanted to ask you about
the military component because there were a couple of things
that really stood out initially when the king and queen
arrived to the Senate building, the inspection of the guard
of honor, um, the 21 gun salute, and then I
thought that the the way that everything ended at the
National War Memorial was quite touching as well, almost like
(05:13):
a mini remembrance Day ceremony. Why was it important for
that component to factor into the trip overall?
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Well, I think, let's be honest, I mean, there's been
some kind of aspersions cast on Canadian, the military and our, our,
even our history, you know, whether we have actually done enough,
let's remember we've lost 110,000 people in the last century
or more in world wars, Korea, Afghanistan, and even in
(05:41):
peacekeeping operations. So
I think that that was a bit of a response
to that, and it was a visual response because that
guard of honor in front of the old train station
in Ottawa is very visual. That red and white was
very stark and of course the National War Memorial is
an incredibly iconic place for Canadians. So I think it
(06:02):
was very important that those things happen. Those are kind
of things that would happen on a royal tour or
even an opening of.
there would be, uh, you know, a guard of honor
out in front of a of the parliament. I will
tell you that the Canadian forces have been cutting back
on guards of honor and cutting back on the number
of people in guards of Honor because of shortages of personnel.
(06:26):
So that was a bit of an exception to what's
been happening in the last 4 or 5 years. That's
not been well reported in the media.
But they have kind of, they have tried to cut
back on the number of people they put out because
they just don't have them available with all the things
they're doing in training abroad and of course the impact of,
of general staff shortages. So I think that was a
(06:47):
full-throated participation by the Canadian Forces. We had the army,
we had the Air Force flying above. We had a
ceremony like you say at the war memorial. We honored.
The unknown soldier who got that monuments also marking its
25th anniversary today actually, and you know, those things were
(07:08):
very important. I thought it was a very poignant ending
and again another great opportunity for people to turn out
in the street and enjoy those things. And let's not
forget also the huge participation of the RCMP. That's so
iconic them bringing the king to parliament.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Yeah, and their, their music, their performances along the way
were were also something to behold. When this is all
said and done, what do you, what lasting impact do
you think, if any, there will be from this visit?
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Well, I think it was huge for the domestic audience,
you know, that that the domestic audience, the Canadian audience
heard the king saying these things and it placed the
crown really on that side of the discussion.
Um, I think also we know this got huge international coverage.
I mean, with all due respect to our Governor General,
this throne speech would not have had the same international
(07:57):
coverage if she had read it. It is, it is
on a lot of, a lot of international, and I
think it's also important that it's been bigly played in
Britain as well, because Canadians haven't felt the degree of
support on this tariff issue from our British friends as
we have maybe expected.
I think for the monarchy going forward, I think this
really sets the crown in a very different position. Canadians
(08:19):
were not that enthusiastic about a King Charles monarchy. They
loved Queen Elizabeth II. I think he has really won
over some people in how this was handled. Remember, he
flew over just for 24 hours in his medical condition
to do this. I think it sets him up for
future visits in a very different way, and it just
reminds us that the crown is an institution is a shapeshifter.
(08:41):
It changes its form, it changes its purpose as time
goes on, as is needed. It serves the public, it's
not there to serve itself.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
OK, uh, I'm going to leave it there, Richard. Thanks
for your analysis. Super helpful as always. Appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
OK, pleasure.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Have a wonderful afternoon. Richard Berthelen is our royal commentator
here at CTV News, and as I mentioned, he has
a great piece on our website, kind of going through
the details of the throne speech and the visit and
his major takeaways. It's uh it's a great read, so I,
I recommend doing so. That's CTV News.ca.
As the anthem reminds us.
The true north is indeed strong and free.
If there was one moment in the 27 minute throne
speech delivered by historically delivered by King Charles the Third
(00:22):
yesterday that stands out it is that one, the pronouncement
that Canada, of course, in referencing the true North is
indeed strong and free, drew a round of applause from
the people who had gathered in the Senate.
Chamber as you can hear there, to talk a little
bit more about the visit and the delivery of the
throne speech, even the throne speech uh itself. We are
joined live on the line by Richard Berthelsen, our royal
(00:45):
commentator here at CTV News and, and more specifically our
expert on all things, uh, Royal and the crown. Richard,
it's so great to have you on the program. Thank
you for making the time.
Glad to be here. You were with us all through
it yesterday and you were so helpful in your analysis.
I thought, uh, I, I could pick your brain even
more today now that we've had a few moments to
reflect on the visit as a whole. Uh, first of all,
(01:06):
on the 24 hours, it was quick, but I feel
like it had an impact. What is your sense?
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Absolutely it was a hugely impactful visit and I think
it was hugely impactful because it was his first visit
as king and because it came at the moment in
our history that it does, you know, where we have
a really serious threat, a threat which obviously continued after
the throne speech because we saw more social media action
from the White House. But you know, I think Canadians
(01:33):
have been wanting to know where the king stood on
this issue, particularly as he has been put in a
very delicate position.
By Prime Minister Starmer asking the king to host a
state visit. So I mean, I think it was a
real legitimate question for people to understand how this works.
The crown is a subtle and delicate institution. It does,
it's not there for huge political statements or political negotiations,
(01:58):
but I think people really wanted the king to put
his thumb on the scale, and he
did that yesterday in that.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Yeah, expand on that if you could a little bit
because it was a very thoughtful balance I thought, right,
of a few, like I mean a throne speech, not
normally highly consumed is is delivered by the governor General
in the words of the government, right? It's about their
agenda more often than not, and this was all that,
but it also
Kind of was bookended by a little bit of his own, uh,
(02:26):
you know, he put his own flair on it, in
particular referencing his mom and and some of her words
and then that clip that we played. What did you
think of the balance that he struck in addressing the
greater issue that you point to without further antagonizing it
or attempting to not further antagonize it?
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Yeah, I mean, I think all those are all those
are right on. The king had, by my count, if
I'm reading it, you know, between the lines deconstructing, I'd
say about 10 paragraphs at the beginning and maybe 2
or 3 at the end, that that he maybe had his,
his fingerprints on. Let's remember though, never forget this speech
is the responsibility of the Prime Minister, and he has
(03:04):
to defend the speech in the House of Commons and ultimately,
you know, there'll be a confidence motion on that speech.
But I, I do think there were 9 or 10
comments there. I think it's extremely, also very important that
the land acknowledgment was given by the king directly. That
is probably one of the first times that's happened in
our history. There was a number of references in the
(03:25):
king's words to reconciliation. And then, of course, we have
this really, what I think is a very powerful, very
simple statement at the end, you know, where the king
clearly says,
You know that Canada is true north, strong and free,
and he added, of course, the word indeed to that.
(03:47):
So it was not just the anthem, but the true
North is indeed strong and free. I think that was
extremely pivotal.
Um, and of course, as you know, that was the
moment the, the audience in the Senate chamber reacted to,
and that really was, I think, a set of words
that people wanted to hear. And of course, those words
are very significant to Canadians because we sing it all
(04:09):
the time in our national anthem. And let's be honest,
we've been singing that national anthem a lot more loudly
in the last few days. Also interesting, just as a
side note, of course, that is emblazoned, the true North
strong and free is emblazoned on the aircraft.
that flew the king to and from England. So, you know,
that is a very interesting set of
(04:30):
coincidences.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Yeah, that factoid and many others are in a wonderful
piece on our website if you're you're listening and you
have a moment on CTV News.ca that Richard wrote that
really encapsulates kind of the speech and the visit and
all the things that you need to know about it.
Beyond the speech itself, Richard, because you have, you know, you,
you have such an expertise in what goes into planning
all of this in all of the
(04:52):
Uh, protocol involves, uh, I wanted to ask you about
the military component because there were a couple of things
that really stood out initially when the king and queen
arrived to the Senate building, the inspection of the guard
of honor, um, the 21 gun salute, and then I
thought that the the way that everything ended at the
National War Memorial was quite touching as well, almost like
(05:13):
a mini remembrance Day ceremony. Why was it important for
that component to factor into the trip overall?
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Well, I think, let's be honest, I mean, there's been
some kind of aspersions cast on Canadian, the military and our, our,
even our history, you know, whether we have actually done enough,
let's remember we've lost 110,000 people in the last century
or more in world wars, Korea, Afghanistan, and even in
(05:41):
peacekeeping operations. So
I think that that was a bit of a response
to that, and it was a visual response because that
guard of honor in front of the old train station
in Ottawa is very visual. That red and white was
very stark and of course the National War Memorial is
an incredibly iconic place for Canadians. So I think it
(06:02):
was very important that those things happen. Those are kind
of things that would happen on a royal tour or
even an opening of.
there would be, uh, you know, a guard of honor
out in front of a of the parliament. I will
tell you that the Canadian forces have been cutting back
on guards of honor and cutting back on the number
of people in guards of Honor because of shortages of personnel.
(06:26):
So that was a bit of an exception to what's
been happening in the last 4 or 5 years. That's
not been well reported in the media.
But they have kind of, they have tried to cut
back on the number of people they put out because
they just don't have them available with all the things
they're doing in training abroad and of course the impact of,
of general staff shortages. So I think that was a
(06:47):
full-throated participation by the Canadian Forces. We had the army,
we had the Air Force flying above. We had a
ceremony like you say at the war memorial. We honored.
The unknown soldier who got that monuments also marking its
25th anniversary today actually, and you know, those things were
(07:08):
very important. I thought it was a very poignant ending
and again another great opportunity for people to turn out
in the street and enjoy those things. And let's not
forget also the huge participation of the RCMP. That's so
iconic them bringing the king to parliament.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
Yeah, and their, their music, their performances along the way
were were also something to behold. When this is all
said and done, what do you, what lasting impact do
you think, if any, there will be from this visit?
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Well, I think it was huge for the domestic audience,
you know, that that the domestic audience, the Canadian audience
heard the king saying these things and it placed the
crown really on that side of the discussion.
Um, I think also we know this got huge international coverage.
I mean, with all due respect to our Governor General,
this throne speech would not have had the same international
(07:57):
coverage if she had read it. It is, it is
on a lot of, a lot of international, and I
think it's also important that it's been bigly played in
Britain as well, because Canadians haven't felt the degree of
support on this tariff issue from our British friends as
we have maybe expected.
I think for the monarchy going forward, I think this
really sets the crown in a very different position. Canadians
(08:19):
were not that enthusiastic about a King Charles monarchy. They
loved Queen Elizabeth II. I think he has really won
over some people in how this was handled. Remember, he
flew over just for 24 hours in his medical condition
to do this. I think it sets him up for
future visits in a very different way, and it just
reminds us that the crown is an institution is a shapeshifter.
(08:41):
It changes its form, it changes its purpose as time
goes on, as is needed. It serves the public, it's
not there to serve itself.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
OK, uh, I'm going to leave it there, Richard. Thanks
for your analysis. Super helpful as always. Appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (08:55):
OK, pleasure.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Have a wonderful afternoon. Richard Berthelen is our royal commentator
here at CTV News, and as I mentioned, he has
a great piece on our website, kind of going through
the details of the throne speech and the visit and
his major takeaways. It's uh it's a great read, so I,
I recommend doing so. That's CTV News.ca.
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