King video-calls Canadian PM Justin Trudeau on day of behind-the-scenes duties

The King held a video call with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau as he carried out a flurry of behind-the-scenes duties.

The monarch, who is undergoing treatment for cancer, spoke with Mr Trudeau on Wednesday, as well as conducting two diplomatic audiences and writing a message of condolence to Tanzania over the death of the country’s former president.

Charles, who is continuing his head of state duties from behind palace walls, has postponed all public-facing engagements following his diagnosis.

He was pictured sat in front of a computer screen during the virtual audience with Mr Trudeau, in scenes reminiscent of his mother the late Queen, who adopted the mode of communication during the Covid-19 pandemic and in her later years.

It is the first time they have spoken since the King’s cancer diagnosis.

The pair are understood to have discussed current national and international matters, with personal well-wishes given by both the King and Mr Trudeau.

A folder of printed notes was open in front of the monarch on the wooden desk, with two red pens and a pad of notes ready for his use.

The Buckingham Palace room was previously the study of Prince Philip, the late Duke of Edinburgh, with the King using his father’s desk.

The office was filmed for the BBC as part of a special tribute to the duke following his death in 2021, and it was described as a “very practical room without frills”, and Philip’s orderly desk as “rather like the bridge of a ship”.

Some of the same furnishing and ornaments, including a statue of a horse on the window sill, are still in place.

A smaller pop-up screen of the King, who was wearing a suit and tie, could be seen on the right of the display, with the main image showing Mr Trudeau sat in front of two large Canadian flags and a glass cabinet.

Charles is also King of Canada, and Mr Trudeau has a long-standing bond with the royal family.

As a young child in the 1970s, Mr Trudeau met the late Queen several times through his father, Pierre Trudeau, who was one of Canada’s longest-serving prime ministers.

Earlier in the day, the King received incoming Algerian ambassador Nourredine Yazid and the ambassador for Mauritania, Samba Mamadou Ba, who presented their credentials.

The diplomatic audiences were the King’s first this year, and the first since his diagnosis.

He was pictured in a smart morning suit – his customary attire for the traditional face-to-face meetings with new ambassadors.

Charles smiled broadly as he greeted and chatted with his guests in Buckingham Palace’s grand 1844 Room.

The King also sent a written message expressing his deepest sympathies following the death of former Tanzania president Ali Hassan Mwinyi, calling him a “true friend” of the UK.

Charles praised Mr Mwinyi, who died last week at the age of 98, for being a “leading figure” in Tanzania’s economic and political development.

He recalled his mother the late Queen hosting the president for lunch at Buckingham Palace with then-prime minister Margaret Thatcher in 1988.

Charles said in his message to the president of Tanzania Samia Suluhu Hassan: “It was with great sadness that I learned of the death of former President Mwinyi.

“He was a true friend of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, and a leading figure in Tanzania’s economic and political development. I can only offer you my deepest sympathy at his passing.”

He added: “The United Kingdom was delighted to invite President Mwinyi to London in 1988, when he was hosted by my mother, Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, for lunch at Buckingham Palace, and met prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

“I understand that this was his first official visit to Europe and he was able to make great strides in cementing the United Kingdom-Tanzania relationship.

“My special thoughts and prayers are with former President Mwinyi’s family and the Tanzanian people at this time.”

The message was signed Charles R.

Mr Mwinyi was fondly known as Mzee Rukhsa – “Mr Permission” – for opening up Tanzania and allowing multiparty democracy, independent media, free trade and the private ownership of televisions.