If English King Charles III were a real king, he would have made some news during his two-day visit to Canada last week.

We hardly knew he was there.

But he was in Canada to give a speech “from the throne” at the opening of the Canadian Parliament.

He would have been better off if he came to the U.S. instead, or even to Boston, where at least there is some important history, and where he even has a river (the Charles) named after one of his ancestors.

They just don’t make kings like they used to.

King Charles I (1600-1649) and King Charles II (1630-1685), his namesakes, would have been embarrassed at the lack of royal enthusiasm over the visit.

Heads would have rolled.

In fact, back then heads did roll, including the head of King Charles I in 1649 when he was overthrown and executed following a civil war led by Oliver Cromwell.

He was lucky in that he previously named the Charles River after himself following its “discovery” by English explorer Captain John Smith in the 1620s.  Local Native Americans called the meandering river the “Quinnuppe” (It turns), but they had no vote in the renaming.

Charles’ son and eventual successor Charles II avoided the gallows and died of a stroke in 1649.

Charlies III, while only a monarch in name, nevertheless could have made his mark and proven his relevance by proposing that Canada annex the United States, instead of the other way around.

Canada, with a population of 40 million is made up of 10 provinces and three territories.  Were it to annex the U.S. it would absorb a country with a population of 350 million (not counting illegals) in 50 states where everybody speaks English, or used to.

The states would be turned into provinces, one of which would be run by the king’s estranged brother Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, both of whom are desperately searching for meaning to give to their meaningless lives.

Had Charles III done so he would have captured the attention of not only Canada, the U.K. and the U.S. but of the world as well.  Heads would have turned, not rolled.

“Trump is not the only world leader who can make a deal,” his Majesty could have said.

Accompanied by his wife Queen Camilla—not be confused with Queen Kamala—the visit to The True North was designed to lift Canadian spirits in the wake of President Donald Trump’s plans to take the place over.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney previously said, “Canada is not for sale.”

To which Trump responded: “Everything is for sale.”

Be that as it may, no one, not even Carney, has suggested that Canada take over the U.S.

Charles III would have been the first to propose it. And he could have framed it under the proposition that the U.S.—or at least its 13 original Colonies—were part of the British Empire before old King George III let them slip away.

But while it would be impossible for the U.K. to take the Colonies back, it might make sense for Canada to have a say in the matter over what belongs to who, or who belongs to what.

But it won’t be easy given that kings are not as popular as they used to be.

A poll by the non-profit Canadian Angus Reid Institute showed that Charles III is even less popular in Canada than old Joe Biden is in the U.S., or even perhaps King Charles I when he still had his head.

The poll showed that a whopping 83% of the Canadians polled were indifferent or did not care about the king’s visit.

While King Charles did not directly talk about Canada annexing the United States, he did warn that Canada was “rebuilding, rearming and reinvesting in the Canadian Armed Forces.”

To which Trump would  have responded by saying, “Bring it on.”

Veteran political reporter Peter Lucas can be reached at: peter.lucas@bostonherald.com