British monarchy puts up with us, we put up with them

Canadians only keep the monarchy for the pure joy we derive from knowing it irritates Quebec separatists. If not for this spectacle we'd have long ago declared a republic. "It is archaic!" Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe once sputtered to reporters. "An affront;" "hare-brained;" "no business here." Don't like the Queen, eh? Hmm, you don't say. New Democrat MP Pat Martin, a longtime anti-monarchist, stumbled on the truth in a recent Hill Times interview. "You would think Canadians would feel the pressure to distance themselves from the British monarchy...given that our French counterparts within Canada don't have any particular loyalty or affection to the British crown." Yes, that is the whole point. Martin's own Winnipeg constituents would never vote for a republic in the knowledge Quebec nationalists would call it a triumph. Quebecers are famously thin-skinned on the subject. The French-language service of The Canadian Press still refers to Elizabeth not as head of state but "Queen of England." Much of our royal trappings are from the past. British historian Piers Brendon was thinking of Queen Victoria when he wrote in 2007, "Larger-than-life-sized sculptures of the Queen took pride of place in every imperial city from Accra to Adelaide, from Toronto to Calcutta." Nationwide, 76 towns, cities, lakes, mountains and counties are named for Victoria or assorted British princes and princesses. Today most Canadians probably feel sorry for the Royal Family. They are irrelevant and smothered in protocol. Under court rules no one must speak unless addressed by the monarch. "Only the King could introduce a new topic," an English newspaperman explained in 1959. "The strain of initiating conversations with scores of people, many of whose faces were unfamiliar, and nearly all of whom were content to respond in polite or dazed monosyllables, was one of royalty's heaviest burdens (as it still is)." Endless mingling seems a dreadful job, "almost robot-like irrelevance," the Duke of Windsor wrote in his 1951 memoirs A King's Story. He recounted the "monotony" and "inescapable sameness" of visiting farms and tractor factories, recalling one especially tedious tour. "'Thank God that's over,' said my friend. 'It may be for you,' I answered, 'but it is never over for me.'" The boredom is mutual. Few countries retain a monarchy. Canada stands with Swaziland and Samoa, Tonga and Liechtenstein. We are neither proud nor ashamed of it; we seem merely indifferent. When British Columbia Ferries removed the Queen's portrait from its fleet in 2003, it took five years for the public to notice. Predictable protests from the Monarchist League and The Victoria Times Colonist prompted the ferry service to reconsider in 2008. When the Countess of Wessex last month visited Edmonton's Holy Trinity Anglican Church, a Sun reporter counted "a handful of royal watchers" who showed up to see the minor celebrity. The country once swooned over royalty; a 1939 tour by King George VI made the front page of The Globe and Mail 38 days in a row. Now it is humdrum. The Winnipeg Free Press last year polled readers, "Does Prince Edward's whirlwind tour to Manitoba make the monarchy more relevant to you?" Only 16 percent said yes. If the monarchy draws any reaction outside Quebec it is mild annoyance over royal imagery, a "whiff of anti-Britishness," the Saint John Telegraph-Journal called it. Victoria Day is a favourite target. It has been a legal holiday here since 1854, yet the mere name of the late Queen on the calendar sets pundits to huffing. "Let's grow up, Canada," wrote The Globe's Jeffrey Simpson, "and take pride in what is Canadian rather than glorifying an English monarch who died in 1901." Toronto Star columnist Bob Hepburn expressed bafflement that "we continue to set aside a national holiday to honour a foreign monarch...who never set foot on this soil." Once the Royal Family symbolized middle-class values. "They're just like us, we sometimes think," novelist Pico Iyer wrote in the 2008 New York Review of Books. They are not and never were, of course. The Queen feeds her nine pet corgis fresh rabbit meat served with a silver spoon; Prince Charles has his cotton pajamas freshly ironed each morning. Perhaps they would inspire affection if they did something useful like other monarchs. King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand plays the saxophone and is expert in irrigation farming. King Juan Carlos of Spain saved his country from a 1981 military coup. The late King Boris III of Bulgaria spoke six languages and was a heavy-duty mechanic. He liked to relax by driving steam locomotives. If our royalty fills any role, it's as the butt of gentle mockery. Prince Charles is popular in this regard. A single Globe column last April 6 called him "jug ears," "a twit," "the snob," "the kinky lover" and "two-timing husband." Maclean's observed the Queen's 80th birthday with a 2006 headline that read, "She May Outlast Charles. Long Live The Queen." When Decima Research asked Canadians in 2005, "Who is your favourite Royal?" six percent named Charles. "This isn't the sort of country that respects inherited privilege," Vancouver Sun columnist Barbara Yaffe explained. So, we put up with them and they put up with us, making small talk and touring tractor factories. Only one thing makes it tolerable: Knowing somewhere, it drives Gilles Duceppe crazy. The Hill Times

British monarchy puts up with us, we put up with them

But only one thing makes it tolerable: knowing somewhere, it drives Bloc QuÃ©bÃ©cois Leader Gilles Duceppe crazy.

Canada’s aging crisis and a call for reform in eldercare

‘While the future cannot be predicted, it absolutely can be redirected’: young people hit Parliament to call for action

Boissonnault debacle feeds into pattern of ethical lapses in government, deepens Liberal woes, say observers

Feds request $24.8-billion boost as Liberals double down on budget 2024 pledges in latest estimates

Japan not taking part in procurement bid for Canadian Navy’s new subs

Billions from public-service pension plan surplus gives Liberals many options

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

As Charles III is crowned Canada’s King, Canadians take stock of their relationship with the monarchy

Canada likely to keep calm and carry on with the monarchy

King Charles III’s coronation a chance for Canada to break away from monarchy, says Bloc MP Fortin

Give Charles a chance

The Queen is dead. Long live the monarchy?

News

Get free news updates

Opinion

Submit a guest opinion article

resources

Advertise

subscribe

get help

Get free news updates

Submit a guest opinion article

British monarchy puts up with us, we put up with them

But only one thing makes it tolerable: knowing somewhere, it drives Bloc QuÃ©bÃ©cois Leader Gilles Duceppe crazy.

Become a Political Insider

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8