Monarchy

Saturday January 7, 2023

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday January 7, 2023

The enduring anguish of being the royal ‘spare

September 30, 2022

“Wonderful. Now you’ve given me an heir and a spare, my work is done.” That was the conversation that Prince Harry claims marked the day of his own birth, with the then Prince Charles joking to the Princess of Wales about the arrival of their second son.

The story is told in Harry’s memoir, called Spare, and he says the term was often used to describe him, within his own family.

“They would say it without a spirit of judgement, but straight out. I was the shadow, the supporting actor, the plan B,” he writes, in a translation of the book’s Spanish edition.

“I was brought into this world in case something happened to Willy,” he writes, using the nicknames that saw Prince William as “Willy” and Prince Harry as “Harold”.

The saying “an heir and a spare” refers to aristocratic families needing an heir to inherit a title or an estate, and the “spare” as the younger sibling who could be the replacement if anything happened to the heir before he or she has their own children.

It clearly annoyed Prince Harry enough to use it as a title for his book, and it taps into the longstanding difficulty of this uncertain royal understudy role, where there’s wealth and privilege but no obvious sense of purpose.

March 9, 2021

“It’s a non-position,” says royal expert Professor Pauline Maclaran, from the Centre for the Study of Modern Monarchy, Royal Holloway, University of London.

“There’s no clear role apart from shaking hands and being pleasant to people,” says Prof Maclaran.

A life of pointless luxury might have its decadent charms, but it also carries a heavy risk of unfulfillment and lack of direction.

So much so that Prof Maclaran says that a modern, slimmed-down monarchy should either find better defined roles for such individuals, or else release them from any royal expectations, once they’ve slipped down the pecking order of succession.

Royal historian Ed Owens says Sweden and Denmark are examples of where such an approach has been taken, “downsizing” the royal families, so that individuals who might have been marginal “spares” can have their own private lives “unfettered by royal responsibilities”.

Mr Owens says that Princess Margaret, younger sister to the late Queen Elizabeth II, is an example of the pressures put upon such siblings, in a way that remains relevant to the problems raised by Prince Harry.

January 15, 2022

Prince Andrew is another whose attempts at finding a role have not exactly ended well. Even before the scandal involving sex assault claims, which he denied, he had gained the nickname of Air Miles Andy for his many overseas trips.

But there have been positive outcomes. George VI, a shy and initially reluctant monarch, had been Edward VIII’s younger sibling but stepped up to the plate as King after his childless brother abdicated, and proved to be a leader in wartime.

Letter to the Editor, The Hamilton Spectator

His father, George V, had been another second son who came to the throne. His older brother had died at the age of 28 in an outbreak of flu in 1892.

There are also historical templates for the younger royal being cast in a negative light, accused of dissolute and disreputable behaviour or as a rival threatening to undermine the authority of the elder.

Think of Bad King John versus Good King Richard, in the 12th Century power struggle between brothers, that was depicted in a 1970s Disney movie. (BBC News) 

From sketch to finish, see the current way Graeme completes an editorial cartoon using an iPencil, the Procreate app, and a couple of cheats on an iPad Pro …

 

Friday December 2, 2022

December 2, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday December 2, 2022

‘We’ve never seen anything like this’: Is Alberta’s new Sovereignty Act actually legal?

At long last, Danielle Smith’s Alberta government has revealed its long-awaited bill to push back against Ottawa — and grant the provincial cabinet sweeping new powers in the process — but so far, there are arguably more questions than answers.

October 14, 2022

Top of the list: Is this legal?

So far, what has been known as the Sovereignty Act seems to have sparked general confusion.

Smith had made a law — intended to hit back against the federal government on behalf of what she argues is an unfairly treated Alberta — a flagship promise of her leadership campaign, which saw her replace Jason Kenney as the leader of the United Conservative Party and become Alberta premier in October.

“We are finally telling the federal government ‘no more,’” Smith said Tuesday, as the bill was unveiled at the beginning of a new legislative session.

Friday September 30, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday September 30, 2022

King Charles: Will the monarchy move reconciliation forward in Canada?

Earlier this year, at a reception in Canada’s national capital, King Charles – at the time the Prince of Wales – was asked for an apology.

September 20, 2022

The request came from Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald, who told him that the Crown needs to make amends for the “assimilation and genocide” of indigenous schoolchildren at residential schools run by the Anglican Church – of which Charles is now the head – and for its role in colonisation.

The three-day visit was Charles’s nineteenth official tour in the country, and his last as the Prince of Wales.

Charles did not apologise on the trip, though he spoke of the need to “come to terms with the darker and more difficult aspects” of history.

But some are hopeful that the new King’s accession will be the beginning of a more positive relationship between the Crown and indigenous peoples in Canada.

Around the world, Commonwealth nations, including Canada, are grappling with what the role of the monarchy following Queen Elizabeth’s death, and what her son, Charles, should do to make amends for colonialism.

In Canada, the King’s accession comes amid a national conversation about reconciliation with indigenous peoples.

June 1, 2021

It is a conversation that has been building for years, but came to the forefront last summer as First Nations came forward with evidence of the discovery of unmarked graves on the sites of former residential schools – government-funded institutions established in the 1800s that were part of a former policy to assimilate indigenous children.

For Canada, reconciliation is multi-faceted. In addition to a royal apology, many have called on the Crown to return indigenous artefacts that were removed and taken to Britain, and to play a more active role in honouring historic treaty relationships between the monarchy and indigenous people.

These treaties are constitutionally recognised agreements that define the rights and responsibilities between indigenous groups and federal and provincial governments. Treaties with the Crown date back to the 1700s, and negotiating modern treaties is seen as an important part of reconciliation. 

June 3, 2015

Cree writer and former treaty negotiator Darrel J McLeod argued in Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper earlier this month that Queen Elizabeth failed to use the resources available to her to make amends for things done in the Crown’s name – from issuing formal apology to the repatriation of indigenous artefacts.

He said he hoped the King will “have the insight and determination to accomplish what his mother wasn’t able to and use whatever time that might remain for the Windsor dynasty’s role in Canada to turn things around”.

Canada was a monarchy even before it was a country. Over 500 years ago, both French and British monarchs presided over colonies in Canada.

The connection between the Crown and indigenous peoples dates back even further, to when Europeans first set foot on the continent. (BBC) 

From sketch to finish, see the current way Graeme completes an editorial cartoon using an iPencil, the Procreate app, and a couple of cheats on an iPad Pro …

 

Tuesday September 20, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday September 20, 2022

The monarchy, Canada and the future

September 9, 2022

The world said goodbye to the Queen — and an era — Monday.

A funeral service at Westminster Abbey with heads of government, other dignitaries and family honoured Queen Elizabeth’s remarkable life of service with seven decades on the throne.

The throne has passed to King Charles III, who, at 73, comes into the role after a literal lifetime of watching and learning. He has pledged to carry on the role in his mother’s tradition, following her example of “selfless duty” and promise of “lifelong service.”

And yet he is not his mother.

The Queen’s death almost certainly marks the start of a diminished monarchy. Support for the monarchy was based, for some at least, on personal affection and respect for the Queen rather than full-throated support for the institution itself. That certainly seems to be the case here. Public opinion research by the Angus Reid Institute in April found that 55 per cent of Canadians supported remaining a constitutional monarchy as long as the Queen reigns. That dropped to 34 per cent if Charles was on the throne.

June 23, 2022

Even before her passing, change was underway. King Charles III takes over a realm much diminished from when his mother assumed the throne in 1952. In nations across the Commonwealth, debates have played out about continued ties to the monarchy.

In a week when most of the tributes to the Queen were glowing and uncritical, these debates are an important reminder of history. For all the attributes the Queen brought to her role, at the end of the day she represented an empire that in its history ruled over and exploited countries around the globe. That exploitation came in the form of violence, racism, slavery, raiding natural resources and robbing local economies, a legacy that is remembered by the citizens of those countries.

Across Africa, India and Caribbean nations among others, the monarchy is viewed with attitudes that range from indifference to anger to passionate demands for reparations and apologies for colonial acts such as enslavement.

Last year, Barbados severed its connections to the Crown and shifted from constitutional monarchy to a republic. Antigua and Barbuda expects to hold a referendum on whether it too should become a republic.

June 10, 2022

What about Canada? The country’s Indigenous peoples have their own painful history with the Crown, one marked by colonialism and genocide. Black people were enslaved in the colonies of British North America.

Is it worth rethinking therefore whether Canada should have its own head-of-state rather than one who resides an ocean away? We’ve already taken steps over the years to disentangle ourselves from London. In 1965, the maple leaf flag was proclaimed as the national flag, replacing the widely used Canadian Red Ensign. The Constitution was repatriated in 1982.

As a mature nation, we can surely have the discussions that are unfolding in other Commonwealth countries about ties to the Crown.

But know that the hurdles are daunting, perhaps insurmountable to ending Canada’s time as a constitutional monarchy. Such a fundamental change would dictate a national referendum. It would require provincial agreement and constitutional changes.

“Given just the sheer complexity of actually achieving the total unanimity of the provinces plus the federal Parliament, which includes the Senate, just on that technical basis it is impossible,” said University of Ottawa law Prof. Errol Mendes.

September 27, 2016

There’s also been a reluctance over the last few decades for federal governments to deal with “fundamental constitutional change,” said Andrew McDougall, professor of Canadian politics and public law at the University of Toronto.

Polls suggest Canadians are indifferent to the monarchy, viewing it as not relevant and outdated. But there are no groundswell demands for change. When more pressing issues loom, such as squeezed household budgets and climate change, it’s hard to make the case that ditching the monarchy should be the focus of our collective time and effort.

The better course would be to hold the monarchy accountable for the past and ensure it remains relevant for the present, priorities that now fall to the new King. (Hamilton Spectator Editorial) 

 

Thursday September 15, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday September 15, 2022

Canada’s federal holiday to mourn the Queen leaves a patchwork of confusion

September 9, 2022

On Canada’s east and west coasts, schools and government offices will be closed on the day of Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral. But in the two most populous provinces, employees will be at work – unless they are federal employees. Banks and other federal industries, however, have been given the option to close – or to remain open.

On Tuesday, the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, declared 19 September a federal holiday. But the ensuing chaos of determining who qualifies for the holiday has left workers confused across the country.

The prairie province of Saskatchewan will remain open for businesses. In neighbouring Manitoba, only government employees will have the day off. But in Prince Edward Island on the Atlantic coast, a full statutory holiday has been declared, with provincial authorities ordering businesses to close or pay their employees time and a half.

“Declaring an opportunity for Canadians to mourn on Monday is going to be important,” said Trudeau, during a cabinet retreat in the province of New Brunswick – which will close schools and government offices. “For our part we will letting federal employees know that Monday will be a day of mourning where they will not work.”

June 9, 2022

In Canada, nearly 90% of workers fall under provincial jurisdiction, and in not declaring the holiday a general holiday, the federal government has left a patchwork of confusion.

Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador have opted to give workers a public holiday.

Quebec, which has long been skeptical of the monarchy, was the first to rule out a public holiday after Trudeau’s announcement.

Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, said workers would not get a holiday – but could instead observe a “moment of silence”.

“This will give all Ontarians an opportunity to reflect on the remarkable life of Queen Elizabeth II and her unrelenting commitment to service and duty,” the premier, Doug Ford, said in a statement.

The British Columbia premier, John Horgan, said in a statement he would “follow the lead of the federal government and join with other provinces in observing the national day of mourning” – referring to four other provinces that took a similar approach.

June 27, 2017

On Wednesday, Toronto’s transit commission announced it too would pay tribute to the late queen on Monday by pausing all service for 96 seconds.

The commission said the stoppage of subways, buses and streetcars would be part of the city’s “coordinated tribute” to Elizabeth and that service would “resume immediately” after the brief period of silence.

Small business advocacy groups had been critical of a possible national holiday, arguing the announcement left little time to prepare, arguing a stoppage of work could cost the country billions.

And in British Columbia, the teacher’s union said the timing was poor, given an upcoming holiday at the end of September as teachers work to get students settled back in school.

“It’s very unusual to have a part-holiday that only really applies to public sector workers,” Bruce Hallsor of the Monarchist League of Canada told CTV News. “She was everybody’s Queen – she wasn’t only the Queen of public sector workers.”

Only one province, Alberta, has not yet announced whether it will make the state funeral a public holiday. (The Guardian)