Charles

The British monarch is expected to voice support for Canada’s sovereignty against Trump’s 51st state comments.

King Charles III, the British monarch, has arrived in Canada for a two-day visit that officials say aims to assert support for the country’s sovereignty amid Donald Trump’s calls for annexing the United States’ northern neighbour.

The monarch’s trip, which started on Monday, comes at the invite of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who won general elections last month amid Trump’s threats.

Charles is the ceremonial head of state in Canada, which remained a commonwealth realm after gaining independence from Great Britain in 1867.

The king is set to open parliament in Ottawa on Tuesday with a “Speech from the Throne” speech – the first such address to be delivered by a British monarch in Canada since 1977.

While the British monarch has refrained from interfering in politics in recent decades, remaining a symbolic figure, Charles is expected to deliver a message of support for Canada against Trump’s statements.

“The prime minister has made it clear that Canada is not for sale now, is not for sale ever,” Canada’s envoy to the UK, Ralph Goodale, told reporters last week.

“The king, as head of state, will reinforce the power and the strength of that message.”

Canadian officials have forcefully rejected Trump’s comments about making their country the 51st US state, as a trade row between the two countries continues. During a visit to the White House earlier this month, Carney told Trump that Canada is “not for sale”.

Charles’ trip, which he will make with his wife Queen Camilla, will be his first visit to the former British colony since becoming king in September 2022.

Governor General Mary Simon, the monarch’s ceremonial representative in Canada, said the royal couple’s visit holds “profound significance”.

“It reaffirms the enduring constitutional bond that has shaped Canada’s journey into a proud and independent nation,” Simon, who is the first indigenous person to hold the position, said in a statement.

On Monday, the royal couple will visit a large park in Ottawa and meet vendors and artists, according to Buckingham Palace. The king will then participate in a ceremonial puck drop to launch a street hockey demonstration before planting a tree in another part of the city.

Although the hope behind the new rule was that it would add spice to the race, the spice was all theoretical as teams were on tenterhooks waiting for incidents that would require quick decisions.

But although Alpine’s Pierre Gasly crashed into the back of Yuki Tsunoda’s Red Bull early on and broke his suspension and Fernando Alonso retired his Aston Martin with an engine failure, there was not a safety car that led to a strategy scramble.

At the first pit stops, the only change in order saw Hamilton jump ahead of Alonso, who then dropped back from the Ferrari, managing his engine problem before retirement.

Alonso, still on zero points, has now had his equal-worst start to a season ever, matched only by McLaren-Honda’s dire 2015.

Behind Hamilton, Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar finished sixth, making two pit stops within a few laps of each other early in the race to end up on hard tyres and run to the end.

Haas driver Esteban Ocon was seventh, ahead of the second Racing Bull of Liam Lawson and the Williams of Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz.

Albon annoyed his good friend George Russell as he managed the traffic to manipulate the race to ensure he and Sainz could pit and both finish in the points.

Russell, complaining Albon was driving erratically, eventually cut the chicane to take the position and refused to give it back, saying he would “take the penalty”.

Russell was expecting a five-second penalty, but in fact he was given a drive-through, and he finished 11th, his race already ruined by the electrical problem in qualifying that left him 14th on the grid.

Charles Leclerc set the pace in first practice at the Monaco Grand Prix, despite consistently complaining about the behaviour of his Ferrari.

Leclerc, who won his home race for the first time last year, said at various times that Ferrari were “nowhere” and that there was “something wrong with the car”.

But he ended the session 0.163 seconds ahead of Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

McLaren’s Lando Norris was third, 0.326secs off the pace, with Williams’ Alex Albon fourth and championship leader Oscar Piastri fifth.

Leclerc, who was pessimistic about Ferrari’s hopes for Monaco, had an incident-packed session.

He started it by taking to the escape road at Mirabeau on his very first lap, and soon afterwards hit the rear of Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin at the Loews hairpin, after the Canadian veered into the Ferrari’s path while on a slow lap.

That damaged the Ferrari’s front wing, but Leclerc was able to continue. Stroll, though, took no further part in the session because of rear suspension damage and the need to change his gearbox.

THERE was heartbreak for King Charles as his star filly was among a huge number of horses removed from the Epsom Oaks.

Top trainer William Haggas scratched Charles and Camilla’s Purple Rainbow from the year’s biggest race.

1

Bred by the late Queen Elizabeth II, Purple Rainbow had one win from three runs in the famous Royal silks.

But it looks like she is destined for handicaps rather than the elite level after finishing fourth on her return at Ascot last month.

Haggas pulled the plug on her Oaks chances during Tuesday morning’s scratching stage.

The decision came days after King Charles’ first runner with Willie Mullins was denied a dream win in a dramatic photo finish.

A mass of runners – 34 in all – were axed from the June 6 Group 1 over 1m4f, worth just shy of £120,000 to the winner.

Aidan O’Brien, who has won three of the past five Oaks, was among the big names removing a number of his entries.

Among the more notable of his was 14-1 chance Ballet Slippers.

The daughter of Dubawi, who finished third to current Oaks favourite Desert Flower when last seen in October, is yet to run this season.

Group 3 winner Exactly, who had been as short as 20-1, was another pulled, along with fellow 20-1 chance Dreamy.

O’Brien had previously said after her Group 3 win over a mile at the Curragh last August that he hoped she was an Oaks filly.

While Smoken, who was sent off 5-2 favourite for the Musidora at York last week before finishing a tailed-off last, was axed by Ralph Beckett.

The winner of that race, Whirl, kept her place in O’Brien’s squad.

His Cheshire Oaks winner Minnie Hauk looks the best chance of victory being as short as 7-2.

While O’Brien’s other big Coolmore chance Giselle is into 5s.

Charlie Appleby’s 1000 Guineas heroine Desert Flower kept her place in the race, with bookies cutting her to as short as 2-1 favourite.

While Owen Burrows’ Listed Newmarket winner Falakeyah – one of just 14 left in the race – was cut to 5s.

Epsom Oaks runners

Desert Flower
Falakeyah
Giselle
Go Go Boots
Island Hopping
Janey Mackers
January
Lake Victoria
Minnie Hauk
Qilin Queen
Revoir
Trad Jazz
Wemightakedlongway
Whirl

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NEW YORK — Charles Strouse, the three-time Tony Award winner and Broadway master melody-maker who composed the music for “Annie,” “Bye Bye Birdie” and “Applause,” died Thursday. He was 96.

Strouse died at his home in New York City, his family said.

In a career that spanned more than 50 years, Strouse wrote more than a dozen Broadway musicals, as well as film scores and “Those Were the Days,” the theme song for the sitcom “All in the Family.”

Strouse turned out such popular — and catchy — show tunes as “Tomorrow,” the optimistic anthem from “Annie,” and the equally cheerful “Put on a Happy Face” from “Bye Bye Birdie,” his first Broadway success.

“I work every day. Activity — it’s a life force,” the New York-born composer told the Associated Press during an interview on the eve of his 80th birthday in 2008. “When you enjoy doing what you’re doing, which I do very much, I have something to get up for.”

Deep into his 90s, he visited tours of his shows and met casts. Jenn Thompson, who appeared in the first “Annie” as Pepper and directed a touring version of “Annie” in 2024, recalls Strouse coming to auditions and shedding a tear when a young girl sang “Tomorrow.” She said: “He’s so gorgeously generous and kind. He has always been that way.”

His Broadway career began in 1960 with “Bye Bye Birdie,” which Strouse wrote with lyricist Lee Adams and librettist Michael Stewart. “Birdie,” which starred Dick Van Dyke and Chita Rivera, told the tale of an Elvis Presley-like crooner named Conrad Birdie being drafted into the Army and its effect on one small Ohio town.

Strouse not only wrote the music, but he played piano at auditions while Edward Padula, the show’s neophyte producer, tried to attract financial backers for a production that would eventually cost $185,000.

“We never stopped giving auditions — and people never gave money at all. The idea of using rock ‘n’ roll — everybody was so turned off,” Strouse said.

Finally, Padula found Texas oilman L. Slade Brown. When he heard the score, he said, in a Texas twang, “I like those songs,” pushed Strouse aside and picked out the tune of “Put on a Happy Face” on the piano.

Brown then said, “How much do you fellas need?” and wrote out a check for $75,000 to cover the start of rehearsals. “Suddenly, the world turned Technicolor,” Strouse remembered.

The popularity of “Birdie” spawned a film (with Van Dyke, Janet Leigh and Ann-Margret) in 1963 and a television adaptation with Jason Alexander and Vanessa Williams in 1995.

Strouse and Adams gave several non-musical theater stars, including Sammy Davis Jr. and Lauren Bacall, stage successes for “Golden Boy” and “All About Eve,” respectively.

But it was “Annie” (1977) that proved to be Strouse’s most durable — and long-running — Broadway hit (over 2,300 performances). Chronicling the Depression-era adventures of the celebrated comic strip character Little Orphan Annie, the musical featured lyrics by Martin Charnin and a book by Thomas Meehan.

It starred Andrea McArdle as the red-haired moppet and Dorothy Loudon, who won a Tony for her riotous portrayal of mean Miss Hannigan, who ran the orphanage. The musical contained gems such as “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile” and “It’s the Hard Knock Life.”

The 1982 film version, which featured Carol Burnett in Loudon’s role, was not nearly as popular or well-received. A stage sequel called “Annie Warbucks” ran off-Broadway in 1993. The show was revived on Broadway in 2012 and made into a film starring Quvenzhané Wallis in 2014. NBC put a version on network TV in 2021 called “Annie Live!”

Strouse and Charnin, who both won Grammy Awards for the “Annie” cast album, found shards of their work included in Jay-Z’s 1998 Grammy-winning album “Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life.”

“Tomorrow” has been heard on soundtracks from “Shrek 2″ to “Dave” to “You’ve Got Mail.” In 2016, Lukas Graham used parts of the chorus from “Annie” for his “Mama Said” hit.

Strouse had his share of flops, too, including two shows — “A Broadway Musical” (1978) and “Dance a Little Closer,” a 1983 musical written with Alan Jay Lerner, that closed after one performance. Among his other less-than-successful musicals were “All-American” (1962), starring Ray Bolger, “It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman” (1966), directed by Harold Prince, and “Bring Back Birdie” (1981), a sequel to “Bye Bye Birdie.”

Among Strouse’s film scores were the music for “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967) and “The Night They Raided Minsky’s” (1968).

Theater beckoned when he and Adams got a chance in the early 1950s to write songs for weekly revues at an Adirondacks summer camp called Green Mansions. Such camps were the training ground for dozens of performers and writers.

“I would write a song and I would orchestrate it and copy the parts,” he said in the AP interview. “And rehearsal was the next day at nine, so at four in the morning, I am crossing the lake with the parts still wet. I just loved it. I never was happier.”

His wife, Barbara, died in 2023. He is survived by four children, Ben, Nick, Victoria and William.

Kennedy writes for the Associated Press.