A short time ago, there was speculation that Prince Harry would be appointed Governor-General. Susan Delacourt writes:
Just a little over a year ago, about 60 per cent of Canadians polled said the Queen’s runaway grandson would be a good fit for the viceregal post — which, as coincidence would have it, is now vacant.
This was right after Harry and Meghan had found temporary refuge in Canada, before the pandemic, before they decamped to California and most importantly, before the bridge-burning interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired on Sunday night.
But times -- and opinions -- have changed:
The Winfrey interview is the worst thing that’s happened to the royalty on TV since season 4 of “The Crown,” which also seems to have awakened a strong anti-monarchist streak in this country, according to recent polling by Abacus Data.
Abacus CEO David Coletto binge-watched the latest series of “The Crown” late last year and got to wondering how it was making Canadians feel about the monarchy. Not good was the answer — 52 per cent of the people who had finished watching the series leaned toward abolition of the monarchy.
If some of these Canadians saw Sunday night’s interview with Harry and Meghan, chances are that those views are even stronger today. As Harry pointed out, the troubles that Meghan endured as a new part of the Royal Family felt like history repeating itself — the history of Princess Diana, depicted in season four of “The Crown.”
With the Royals, there's always the issue of security:
But there was a lot of discussion about security, which was a very live issue in Canada in the weeks after the two made a temporary home in British Columbia. While everything pre-pandemic feels like ancient history now, we might remember that debate was raging in this country over who would be paying for security for Harry and Meghan and their young son, Archie.
Security is a big deal to the family, as the interview revealed. Meghan recounted to Winfrey how crushed she was to discover that the Firm was not going to be paying for security for her son — the same son whose skin colour had been a matter of royal concern. As she said she was told while still pregnant: “He won’t be given security, he’s not going to be given a title, and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.”
Having a royal family costs money. And it appears that lots of people don't want to foot the bill. Even the Royal Family doesn't want to foot the bill.
Something's out of joint. And now it's certain that Harry won't be the next GG.
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13 comments:
The Royals have been obsessed with security since the Provos blew Dickie Mountbatten out of the water in 1979. Still, that obsession with security didn't seem to apply to Harry's mother after she left the Firm...
At any rate, Barbados is giving the Queen the boot this year and becoming a republic. I've long felt Canada ought to do the same. It's past time that we fully break with our colonial past and our weird ties to a foreign monarchy.
I have no issue with staying in the Commonwealth, as Barbados plans to do. But I have serious issues with people having to swear allegiance to the Queen when they become citizens of Canada, get elected to parliament, join the military and police forces, get called to the bar, and so on. Swearing allegiance to a person - one who doesn't even live here - is incompatible with our fundamental freedoms in my view. Time to leave the Royals to the Brits and strike out on our own.
Cap
As time goes on, I suspect that is what will happen, Cap. The Royals are as flawed as the rest of us. And, in this age, it's hard to hide those flaws.
I've always looked at royals of any sort as members of a nationality unto itself. If we just left them alone, maybe interbreeding would bring about the end of them. Still, while I have trouble believing that an entitled Miss Queen Bee like Princess Anne is the granddaughter of a good man like George VI (families, eh?), I prefer many of them to most of the politicians that the commoner class has produced.
Let me have it. I can't help it. I've always liked the Queen. Irrespective of what we understand as commoners that she isn't able to grasp, she knows her place and seems to have better manners than most of us.
Supplementary
"inbreeding" vice "interbreeding"
(Don't tell Mrs. Stephenson.)
JB
The Queen is a good politician, John. She understands what's happening in the world. Unfortunately, many of her relations are clueless.
There is more to the Royals than meets the eye.
They are not as symbolic as we would would like to think.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/08/royals-vetted-more-than-1000-laws-via-queens-consent
That said; just what would we replace a constitutional monarchy with?
Certainly not a US style Republic..
TB
That link is interesting, TB. Apparently, Elizabeth has more clout than we think she has.
Cap....I hope you don’t want what they have south of us. Our democracy is based upon the Magna Carter and hence the reason for the recognition of the UK Queen or King. If we don’t know where we come from, we do not where we are going. We must recognize what we must change for the good of the country rather than dismissing the past, which we do not want to repeat. Anyong
Delacourt suggests that most Canadians want the Queen but not the monarchy, Anyong. That may be a distinction without a difference. But it's worth considering.
This might be an easier discussion if the Royal Family wasn't so dysfunctional.
Point well taken, Toby. All families are dysfunctional. What matters is the degree of dysfunction.
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Point well taken, Toby. All families are dysfunctional. What matters is the degree of dysfunction.
It also depends upon the family; not all families are created equal!
Royalties are not so dissimilar to dynasties , look to the USA.
The US is second only to the UK in the adoration of the rich , famous and powerful.
Why do we adore these ass holes?
Do we really enjoy being tread on?
TB
That question puzzles me mightily, TB. How can so many people worship such a transparent fool as the man who is now being referred to as "the other guy?"
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