King Charles issued a pointed message to China during his speech at the opening of Canada’s parliament.
The warning came as his son Prince Harry was in Shanghai, China’s financial capital, representing his sustainable travel organisation, Travalyst.
At the same time, Charles was speaking in Ottawa about the challenges facing Canada after being invited to open parliament by Prime Minister Mark Carney - becoming only the second monarch to do so.
King Charles’ issued a warning to China as Prince Harry was speaking in Shanghai, the nation's financial capital.
Getty / Trip.com Group Envision 2025/Travalyst
In his speech as Canada's head of state, Charles outlined the nation's need to be “truly strong” and “secure”.
To that end, the King promised that Ottawa would: “invest to strengthen its presence in the north, which is an integral part of Canada, as this region faces new threats”.
The moment was understood to have been a carefully crafted message to China, The Times reported.
Recently, Chinese and Russian naval forces have encroached on Canada’s arctic territories in a bid to exert influence on the increasingly valuable region.
The king referenced China's encroachment into Canada's Arctic territories.
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The international community is keenly eyeing the Canadian north as rising global temperatures melt dense arctic ice, opening trade routes and resources for extraction.
Rather appropriately, Prince Harry stressed the urgent need for action on climate change during his own speech in China.
"Climate change isn't just an environmental challenge it's a critical business emergency, costing the global economy $143 billion annually," the Duke told attendees.
He emphasised the travel industry's responsibility to be "a force for good" and shared a personal reflection on the struggles of achieving "meaningful change".
As the King spoke, Harry was in China to speak about climate change.
Trip.com Group Envision 2025/Travalyst
Harry and Meghan Markle made the permanent move to California in 2020 but a north American reunion between father and son was very unlikely, regardless of the Duke’s trip over the Pacific.
Harry’s split from the rest of the Royal Family appeared to only intensify after his most recent visit to the UK – where he suffered a bruising legal disappointment after failing to have his working royal security detail reinstated.
Upon returning to the US, the Duke took part in a bombshell interview where he claimed the King “won't speak to me because of this security stuff”.
He also suggested he “not know how much longer my father has” - in reference to Charles’ ongoing cancer treatment.
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The King's speech also appeared to draw a response from President Trump.
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In reference to Ottawa’s tense relations with the US, Charles spoke of the “anxiety about a drastically changing world” experienced by Canadian’s.
US President Donald Trump had repeatedly threatened to make Canada America’s “51st state” since returning to office in November.
He has also slapped his norther neighbour with punishing trade tariffs and conducted frosty meetings with Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney and former PM Justin Trudeau.
Charles’ reference to a “sovereign” Canada that was “strong and free” appeared to prompt Trump to refresh his threat to annex Canada on his social network, Truth Social.
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