King Charles III named Canada’s Head of State
Newslooks- OTTAWA, Ontario
King Charles III has been officially announced as Canada’s monarch Saturday in a ceremony in Ottawa.
Charles automatically became king when Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday. But like the ceremony in the United Kingdom hours earlier, the accession ceremony Saturday in Canada is a key constitutional and ceremonial step in introducing the new monarch to the country.
Charles is now is the head of state in Canada, a member of the British Commonwealth of former colonies.
Though Canadians are somewhat indifferent to the monarchy, many had great affection for the late Queen Elizabeth II, whose silhouette marks their coins.
Overall, the antiroyal movement in Canada is minuscule, meaning that Charles will almost certainly remain king of Canada. One reason is that abolishing the monarchy would mean changing the constitution. That’s an inherently risky undertaking, given how delicately it is engineered to unite a nation of 37 million that embraces English-speakers, French-speakers, Indigenous tribes and a constant flow of new immigrants.
from Australian, Canadian and Belizean dollars currencies that feature the queen — will be updated with the new monarch, but the process could take longer, because “it is much easier to enforce a new design in the country where it originates, rather than in other countries where different jurisdiction may take place,” the Coin Expert website said.
The Bank of Canada said its current $20 banknote, made of synthetic polymer, is designed “to circulate for years to come.”
“There is no legislative requirement to change the design within a prescribed period when the Monarch changes,” the Bank of Canada said.
In general, when a new portrait subject is chosen for Canadian money, the process begins with drawing up a fresh design, and a new note is ready to be issued “a few years later,” the bank said.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand said it will issue all of its stock of coins depicting the queen before new ones go out with Charles’ image. The queen also is featured on the $20 bill, which is made “infrequently” and there is no “plan to destroy stock or shorten the life of existing banknotes just because they show the Queen,” the bank said.
“It will be several years before we need to introduce coins featuring King Charles the Third, and longer until stocks of $20 notes are exhausted,” it added.
