The top 10 royal stories of 2012
By Patricia Treble - Monday, December 24, 2012 - 0 Comments
Andrew Winning/Reuters
1. Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, By the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, Canada and Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith: Okay, the title is just fun. And so was the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s reign. It started on Feb. 6—though that’s not “celebrated” as it’s the day her father, King George VI, died—and went right through into December. Canada got a nice stamp, an even nicer stained glass window for Parliament Hill, 60,000 Diamond Jubilee medals, with accompanying paper personally signed by Governor General David Johnston, and a visit by Prince Charles and Camilla, duchess of Cornwall. The world got a four-day extravaganza in London. Not even the pouring rain on the Thames River pageant could drown the enthusiasm of millions. Hundreds of thousands turned out for a huge concert in front of Buckingham Palace with millions more showing up the next day for the main event—a service of thanksgiving in St. Paul’s Cathedral followed by a carriage ride through London and the traditional balcony scene back home. Only the hospitalization of Prince Philip (see also below) put a damper on events.
2. Wedding of Prince Guillaume, hereditary grand duke of Luxembourg, and Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy: Oooh, a royal wedding. Luxembourg might be tiny—population 520,000—but it more than made up for its geographic deficiencies by throwing a spectacular wedding. And that involved inviting tons of royalty who dressed up in spectacular gowns and tiaras for two days of events. (The fabulous Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor website has a complete rundown on all the fashion hits and misses.) Best of all, the bride wore a spectacular Elie Saab dress with her family tiara (to have a family tiara!)
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Charles & Camilla to meet Rob Ford: what could go wrong?
By Patricia Treble - Monday, May 21, 2012 at 11:18 AM - 0 Comments
Paul Chiasson/CP
Canadian Heritage just released its detailed Ontario itinerary of Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla’s four day royal tour of Canada for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
The first event in Toronto for the pair will be watching the massive Victoria Day fireworks display at Ashbridge’s Bay. While 60,000-plus Torontonians get there by roads, the royal couple will arrive by RCMP launch. Smart move. Traffic is notoriously horrid.
And it’s at this event that tour organizers have cleverly dealt with the “problem named Rob.”
2110 Their Royal Highnesses arrive at Ashbridge’s Bay and are greeted by the Premier of Ontario, the Honourable Dalton McGuinty, M.P.P., and Mrs. Terri McGuinty.
The Premier presents the Mayor of Toronto, His Worship Rob Ford and Mrs. Renata Ford.
Meeting the controversial mayor at dusk, at a deafening event that doesn’t allow idle chit chat–”We just love bicycles, don’t you?”–neatly contains a potential nightmare scenario of having him go royally rogue in front of the world’s media.
It’s the play of the day.
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Defending the royals
By Andrew Coyne - Friday, November 13, 2009 at 12:40 PM - 127 Comments
Why Canada needs the monarchy (even if it’s these two)
In 1963, the historian W. L. Morton published a splendid one-volume history of Canada. The title still has the power to thrill, and to shock: The Kingdom of Canada.At the back there is a list of all the kings and queens “sovereign over Canada.” There are 18 of them, nine French and nine English, from Francis I, who ruled at the time of Jacques Cartier’s first landing in 1534, all the way to Elizabeth II. Prince Charles will one day be the 19th King of Canada, and Prince William the 20th. Continue…
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Finally someone is excited about the royal visit
By Patricia Treble - Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at 12:06 PM - 3 Comments
Riot police greet the Royal couple in Montreal
After a rather low-key series of engagements in Newfoundland, Ontario, and British Columbia, there was finally a frisson of excitement in Montreal. Dozens of riot police pushed back a crowd of around 150 protesters so that Prince Charles and Camilla, duchess of Cornwall, could present the local Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada with new colours. They visited the military armory for a few hours before returning to Ottawa in preparation for tomorrow’s Remembrance Day ceremonies.
Earlier in the day, the royal couple met with the Governor General, the Prime Minister and their families. Then Charles greeted Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff. There’s no word whether either of them mentioned the Opposition leader’s harsh words about the royal family, written in the Montreal Gazette in December 1992 when Charles and Diana had just separated and the royals were going through their annus horribilis.
“We are being told to sympathize with the private grief of the tragic couple. We are being asked to believe that the horrid tabloids are to blame. Buckingham Palace and No. 10 Downing Street smoothly assure us that the couple’s private misery need have no constitutional implications. Enough of this nonsense. The Royal Family is not doing its job. And what pray is that? It is to represent and to guarantee the institutional continuity of the British state.The separation announcement effectively declared that the monarchy had placed its dynastic succession on hold until the unhappy couple sort themselves out. The monarchy has suspended normal service and has no idea when it will be resumed…
The royal family is now being torn apart by a uniquely British combination of raging envy and fawning deference. This schizophrenia perfectly expresses the conflict between republican and monarchical principles at the heart of the constitution. What happens now depends not on what the palace wishes, but on what the public comes to believe is right. My fervent wish is that it will regretfully but firmly decide enough is enough.
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Ask Andrew transcript
By Andrew Coyne - Tuesday, November 3, 2009 at 12:56 PM - 12 Comments
Coyne answers about free trade, the Royals, ditching the penny, abortion and much more
- Andrew Coyne:
Hello, everybody. Coyne here. Fire when ready. - Crusk:
Hi Andrew. In the past you have argued for a decrease in personal income tax, but why would a decrease in corporate taxes while maintaining high income taxes not be a better answer to productivity and equality concerns? - Andrew Coyne:
Well, of course, we could do both. Ultimately, all taxes are paid by people, so whether you cut corporate or personal income taxes is not hugely important — either way, what you want to do is make sure that the tax burden is spread fairly, and spread evenly, with as few exceptions or preferences as possible.
What I’d really like to see is a rebalancing away from income taxes altogether, in favour of consumption taxes, which are far less damaging to economic activity. - Critical Reasoning:
Andrew, what are your thoughts on the Charles and Camilla visit? Do you think there is still a broad base of support for the monarchy in Canada?
- Andrew Coyne:
