Meghan Markle and her husband Prince Harry stepped down as senior members of the royal family in 2020, adding fuel to the fire that is their feud with King Charles and other members of Harry’s immediate family. While they didn’t want to be working members of the family, they have always insisted that their titles, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are very important to them.

Meghan made headlines this week after hitting back at her friend, Mindy Kaling, for calling her “Meghan Markle”. In the awkward moment, the Duchess fired back, “It’s so funny, too, that you keep saying Meghan Markle. You know I’m Sussex now.”

She added that she loves the fact she shares a name with her children, “You have kids and you go, no I share my name with my children, and that feels so – I didn’t know how meaningful it would be to me, but it just means so much to go, this is our family name.”

While King Charles is the Head of State, according to the Statute of Westminster, the monarch can only act on advice of the minister of each dominion, which for Canada is Trudeau.

In a post to X on Saturday, former Conservative cabinet minister and premier of Alberta Jason Kenney said, “I wish our Prime Minister would, in fact, give that advice. It is clear that President Trump respects the Crown, and (in my opinion) the Government of Canada should ask the Head of State to underscore Canadian sovereignty.”

Liberal MP Anthony Housefather said on social media that “Canada’s head of state must be able to clearly say that we are an independent country and will stay that way.”

Trudeau is currently in London, England, for a security summit on Ukraine, and was asked on Sunday whether he wants King Charles to speak out about Canadian sovereignty.

While the prime minister did not answer directly, he said, “I look forward to sitting down with His Majesty tomorrow.”

“We will discuss matters of importance to Canada and to Canadians, and I can tell you that nothing seems more important to Canadians right now than standing up for our sovereignty and our independence as a nation.”

But speaking to reporters in London, England on Saturday, Canadian High Commissioner to the U.K. Ralph Goodale said Buckingham Palace should not give Trump’s ongoing push to make Canada the 51st state too much attention.

“In fact, what I would have recommended … is just dismiss it as sheer foolishness. And it is sheer foolishness,” Goodale said, adding: “Some rantings about the 51st state are completely ludicrous.”

Canada’s allies, meanwhile, have also been seemingly reluctant to come to Canada’s defence.

In a visit to Washington this week, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer twice evaded questions on the issue.

“You mentioned Canada. I think you’re trying to find a divide between us that doesn’t exist,” he said, when asked by reporters about Trump’s annexation comments, in a visit to the White House on Thursday.

Then, during an interview on Fox News, when asked what he or King Charles think of Trump calling Canada the 51st state, Starmer said: “As for what his majesty may think of world events, that’s not for me to say.”

“His majesty, obviously, will express himself in his own way, but it’s not for me to express his views,” he added.

During that visit, Starmer also presented Trump with an invitation from King Charles to an official state dinner.

King Charles Invites Donald Trump for ‘Unprecedented’ Second State Visit to the U.K.

“I think the last state visit was a tremendous success. His Majesty the King wants to make this visit even better than that, so this is truly historic,” said Prime Minister Keir Starmer

King Charles has invited U.S. President Donald Trump for an “unprecedented” second state visit to the United Kingdom.

On Feb. 27, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer presented Trump, 78, with a letter from the King, 76, inviting him for an official visit. The moment unfolded during a press conference in the Oval Office at the White House, and Trump accepted the invitation on the spot.

“He’s a beautiful man and a wonderful man. We appreciate. I’ve gotten to know him very well actually. First term and now a second term,” the president said in a video shared on X. “Perhaps you’d like to say what that very important paragraph…” and handed the premier the letter.

Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party, said, “Yeah, so this is a letter from His Majesty the King. It’s an invitation for a second state visit.”

“This is really special. This has never happened before, this is unprecedented,” the prime minister continued. “I think that just symbolizes the strength of the relationship between us. This is a very special letter, I think the last state visit was a tremendous success. His Majesty the King wants to make this visit even better than that, so this is truly historic. An unprecedented second state visit, he wants to talk that through with you.”

Trump remarked that the letter “says at Windsor,” which he described “really something.”

Starmer, 62, said yes and asked, “What I haven’t gotten yet is your answer?” which made the room laugh.

“The answer is yes, on behalf of our wonderful first lady, Melania, and myself, the answer is yes,” replied Trump, who entered office for his second term on Jan. 20. “We look forward to being there and honoring the King, honoring your country. Your country is a fantastic country, and it will be an honor to be there.”

A date was not announced for the proposed state visit.

Trump becomes the first elected political leader in modern times to be invited for two state visits by a British monarch.

Queen Elizabeth first invited Trump for a state visit to the U.K. after he was sworn into office during his first term in 2017, but the official state trip was repeatedly postponed amid speculation over the protests he might face, The New York Times reported at the time. In addition to other controversies surrounding his relationship with Great Britain, Trump sparked backlash in June 2017 after he criticized London’s mayor in the wake of a terror attack there.

Queen Elizabeth met Trump and Melania on July 13, 2018, at Windsor Castle, where the American president made waves by walking in front of the monarch while inspecting the Guard of Honor, widely interpreted as a breach of protocol around the sovereign.

The state visit came to fruition in June 2019 and coincided with the 75th anniversary of D-Day then. The state banquet of the Trumps’ state visit was memorably attended by Queen Elizabeth, then-Prince Charles, the future Queen Camilla, Prince William and Kate Middleton. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle — who had welcomed their first child, son Prince Archie, the month prior — did not attend the diplomatic dinner.

Trump connected with some of the British royals again at the NATO 70th anniversary reception at Buckingham Palace that December.

In July 2024, it emerged that King Charles sent a letter to Trump after he was shot in an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Trump went on to win the 2024 presidential election on the Republican ticket against Kamala Harris, and crossed paths with Prince William at the ceremonial reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in December 2024.

The Prince of Wales, 42, represented his father at the ceremony as he further his role as a global statesman, and Trump later relayed that he was charmed by William when they met one-on-one at the U.K. Ambassador’s Residence.

“I asked him about his wife, and he said she’s doing well. And I asked him about his father and his father is fighting very hard, and he loves his father and he loves his wife, so it was sad,” Trump told The New York Post at the time about meeting William. He was seemingly referring to Princess Kate and King Charles’ cancer diagnoses, both announced in 2024. The Princess of Wales has since shared that she is in “remission,” while the King’s treatment is continuing into this year.

“We had a great talk for half an hour, a little more than half an hour. We had a great, great talk,” Trump said, adding that William looked well and “very handsome.”

“He’s a good-looking guy. He looked really, very handsome last night,” he told the Post. “Some people look better in person? He looked great. He looked really nice, and I told him that.”

“I had a great talk with the prince,” Trump said about the time they spent together.

State visits are arranged as a way for Britain to maintain strong bonds with other countries and are organized in both outward and incoming formats. There’s plenty of pomp and circumstance to the traditional schedules, which typically include a ceremonial welcome at Horse Guards Parade, Guard of Honor inspection, state banquet at Buckingham Palace, speeches and meetings with leaders over a few following days.