A daughter for Will and Kate could create a royal headache

By Colby Cosh - Thursday, January 3, 2013 at 4:00 PM - 0 Comments

Jesal Parshotam/Splash News

Is there perhaps a silent prayer sweeping stealthily across the ranks of Canada’s constitutional experts? “Please, Lord, let the duchess of Cambridge be delivered of a fine, healthy heir. And if you could see to it, let it be a boy. Or, if it’s a girl, make sure she only has younger sisters.”

When St. James’s Palace announced on Dec. 3 that the wife of HRH Prince William was great with child, the machinery of the Commonwealth was ready. The heads of government in the Queen’s various realms had, in October 2011, already agreed to a co-ordinated change in their statutes that will allow the Prince’s children to succeed in order of seniority, irrespective of sex. The necessary changes to British law, which affect acts as far back as 1351, are ready for parliamentary approval and scheduled to go through as early as possible in the new year, with the Canadian ones to follow. There is nary a whisper of dissent from any quarter. Continue…

Five royal stories guaranteed to make headlines in 2013

By Patricia Treble - Tuesday, January 1, 2013 at 7:30 AM - 0 Comments

Princess Madeleine of Sweden with her fiance Chris O'Neill (Anders Wiklund/Scanpix Sweden/AP)

There’s bound to be unexpected surprises in 2013 for the two dozen-odd royal families around the world. After all, who could have predicted that women everywhere would spend so much time analyzing Prince Harry’s derriere from his Las Vegas romp.

Here are five stories guaranteed to make headlines in 2013:

1. The bump: So much attention has already been paid on the pregnancy of Kate, duchess of Cambridge, that a purple-eyed alien from outer space could be forgiven for wondering if the newborn will one day be leader of the Earth. Kate and William will be under an intense spotlight until she delivers, expected to be in July. Every twinge, every smile or frown will be scrutinized. Poor dears.

2. The BIG wedding: Princess Madeleine of Sweden, a.k.a. the most beautiful princess in Europe, is getting married to Anglo-American financier Chris O’Neill. And that means tiaras, long gowns and lots and lots of fashionable royalty. Just feast your eyes on what happened when big sis Victoria got married in 2010.  BONUS POINTS:  Sweden will be doubly excited given it will happen in time for her father’s ruby jubilee (that’s 40 years on the throne.)

3. Prince Charles turns 65: He’s been heir to the throne for so long that he’s–take a deep breath–grown up, went to university, had a naval career, married Lady Diana Spencer, had two kids before the marriage implode in monumentally spectacular fashion, got divorced, then widowed, then spent eight years with his mistress, Camilla, before they married in 2005, and then spent another eight years together until now, his 65th birthday. It’s so long that he’s been in fashion, then out of fashion (when everyone thought he was a kooky enviro gardening artisto who hated all modernity) before coming back into fashion as the rest of the world realizes that, in this time of global warming and an out of touch elite, that a man born to his position who spends a huge amount of time trying to save the planet (without all of us having to plow a furrow) while getting young people off government aid and into jobs, might be allright.

4. William’s career change: The second in the line to the throne has a big decision to make–renew for another five-year stint with the RAF as a helicopter pilot or go into another military posting, such as the Household Calvary, that will allow him to carry out more royal duties now that his 91-year-old grandfather, Prince Philip, is having to slow down because of bad heath. William loves being a helicopter pilot, able to spend huge amounts of time out of the public eye. But he’s also a Windsor. And that means duty is encoded into his DNA. A true dilemma.

5. Runner-up weddings: Once Andrea Casiraghi’s fiancee gives birth, the second in line to the Monaco throne is supposed to marry heiress Tatiana Santo Domingo. Because of the family’s propensity for sleaze and scandal, expect most top royals to avoid the wedding like a plague. (“Oh so sorry, but that’s the weekend we always clean cobwebs in the turret rooms.”). And mere months after big brother Guillaume got married, Prince Felix of Luxembourg got engaged, giving us a second grand duchy wedding. And unlike Monaco, this will be packed with all the “right sort” of dignitaries.

The top 10 royal stories of 2012

By Patricia Treble - Monday, December 24, 2012 at 7:10 PM - 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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Royal naming rights

By Patricia Treble - Wednesday, December 12, 2012 at 8:40 AM - 0 Comments

MAVRIXPHOTO/KEYSTONE PRESS

The minute the pregnancy was announced, bookmakers started taking bets on what name William and Kate would choose. Since this baby will eventually carry the title of “Queen” or “King,” a few names can be immediately nixed. The traditionalist couple won’t pick anything celebrity-like, so no Peaches or Apple or Blue Ivy for the Windsors. And though Diana will likely be honoured as a secondary name if it’s a girl—Charles and William each have four given names—her public campaign to stop Charles from becoming monarch makes it unlikely she’ll get top billing. Though William adores his granny, Elizabeth is probably out for two reasons: there have already been two British Queen Elizabeths in the last century: the current monarch and her mother. Furthermore, the Belgian heirs snagged the name for their future queen. So here are some early guesses. Continue…

Bringing up baby in the Royal fishbowl

By Jonathon Gatehouse - Sunday, December 9, 2012 at 8:20 AM - 0 Comments

John Stillwell/PA PHOTOS/KEYSTONE PRESS

Prince William’s first public engagement came just 22 hours after his birth: a brief appearance on the steps of St. Mary’s Hospital in London, swaddled in a blanket and held in the awkward clutch of his father, Charles. As the crowd cheered, reporters bellowed and cameras strobed, the jug-eared heir to the British throne dutifully displayed his own, far more telegenic successor. Then he handed the infant off to a shyly smiling Diana, steered her gently by the various photographers’ positions and opened the rear door to their chauffeur-driven station wagon as the new family prepared to speed off home.

Thirty years on, the most striking thing about the footage is the absence of a car seat, or even seat belts for that matter. But the carefully choreographed unveiling was groundbreaking for its time. William Arthur Philip Louis was the first future sovereign to be born in a hospital. His father was actually there to witness his arrival. And, as with the couple’s fairy-tale wedding 11 months before, the public and press had been invited to share the joy almost every step of the way. The news of his birth may have been declared with a traditional 41-gun salute at the Tower of London, but there were modern touches mixed in as well. William would never be a commoner, but his parents, it seemed, were determined that he might find some common ground with them. Continue…

Nurse involved in hoax phone call to Duchess Kate found dead

By Emily Senger - Friday, December 7, 2012 at 10:54 AM - 0 Comments

One of the staff members involved in a prank phone call made to Kate, duchess of Cambridge, while she was in hospital has died, King Edward VII hospital in London confirmed Friday.

The woman, who is reported to be the nurse who was working at hospital reception, was found dead at a London address near the hospital, reports The Guardian.

According to another report in the Daily Mail, police suspect that the woman may have committed suicide.

The hospital identified the woman as Jacintha Saldanha, a mother of two. “Jacintha has worked at the King Edward VII Hospital for more than four years,” says the statement. “She was an excellent nurse and well respected and popular with all over her colleagues.”

The call in question occurred on Dec. 5 when two Australian radio hosts pretending to be the Queen and Prince Charles called the hospital and were transferred to a nurse on Kate’s ward. That nurse then gave out confidential information about Kate’s condition.

The hosts later apologized for their actions. “We were very surprised that our call was put through, we thought we’d be hung up on as soon as they heard our terrible accents,” said host Michael Christian, who pretended to be Prince Charles. “We’re very sorry if we’ve caused any issues and we’re glad to hear that Kate is doing well.”

A ‘much better’ Kate, duchess of Cambridge, leaves hospital smiling

By Emily Senger - Thursday, December 6, 2012 at 7:54 AM - 0 Comments

Britain's Prince William stand next to his wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge as she leaves the King Edward VII hospital in London on Dec. 6, 2012. (Alastair Grant/AP))

Kate, the duchess of Cambridge, walked out of a London hospital Thursday, where she was admitted on Monday after suffering from a severe form of morning sickness, which was brought on by the early days of her pregnancy.

Kate, holding a bouquet of yellow roses, stood by Prince William and said “I’m feeling much better, thank you.” She paused to smile for throngs of waiting media before stepping into a waiting Jaguar with the Duke.

The Telegraph reports that Kate will likely be cleared of her official duties for the next month and will be given time to rest. “She may not appear again in public until the Royal family attend church at Sandringham on Christmas Day,” writes reporter Gordon Rayner.

Kate’s release comes one day after Australian radio hosts pretending to be Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles called the King Edward VII Hospital and were able to get through to a head nurse who gave out sensitive information about Kate’s condition. The prank left the hospital apologizing, as it promised to reexamine its phone call protocol.

Prime minister, Governor General offer congrats on news of royal pregnancy

By The Canadian Press - Monday, December 3, 2012 at 5:45 PM - 0 Comments

OTTAWA – Canada is offering its congratulations to Prince William and his wife, Kate, on the announcement of her pregnancy.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his wife Laureen passed on their best wishes Monday, as did Gov. Gen. David Johnston.

“We recall with great fondness the 2011 royal tour of Canada by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The tremendous outpouring of affection with which Canadians greeted the royal couple is bolstered by today’s happy news,” Harper said in a statement.

“On behalf of all Canadians, Laureen and I convey our warmest congratulations.”

The Governor General, who is travelling in South America, said the news reached him in Peru.

He added that after attending the royal couple’s wedding and later welcoming them to Canada, he and his wife Sharon were overjoyed to hear that the pair were expecting their first child.

“Their love and devotion to each other — not to mention their warmth towards the people they met — were evident. Canadians reciprocated and in great numbers, demonstrating our respect for the Crown in Canada, and how much they mean to Canadians. With this happy news, we have once again a chance to show our admiration,” he said in a statement.

St. James’s Palace announced the pregnancy Monday, saying the Duchess of Cambridge was in hospital being treated for a severe form of morning sickness. It added that she was expected to remain hospitalized for several days and would require a period of rest afterward.

There has been no announcement of when the child is due and the palace has only said that the 30-year-old Kate has not yet reached the 12-week mark in her pregnancy.

The baby will be third in line to the British throne after Prince Charles and Prince William.

Twitter responds to news Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, is pregnant

By macleans.ca - Monday, December 3, 2012 at 12:09 PM - 0 Comments

The (other) royal weddings of 2011

By Patricia Treble - Friday, December 2, 2011 at 6:00 AM - 0 Comments

‘This place is what Canada is all about’

By Ken MacQueen - Thursday, July 14, 2011 at 12:35 PM - 1 Comment

Phil Noble/Reuters

What drew Yellowknife Mayor Gordon Van Tighem to the Northwest Territories 20 years ago, after years in Calgary and Toronto, are some of the same experiences Prince William and Catherine were able to sample during their 40-hour visit to the territorial capital and the wilderness beyond. “You’re on the edge of some of the little remaining, but accessible, wilderness in the world,” says the mayor. “Twenty minutes in any direction you won’t be finding any cigarette packages or Tim Hortons cups, and you can get lost.”

There was little risk of William and Catherine going astray during their whirlwind visit to what the BBC breathlessly described as “the remote settlement of Yellowknife.” The description amused rather than offended the mayor. With almost 20,000 people, representing 120 ethnic groups—and “two McDonald’s”—the mayor considers Yellowknife “a little-big city.” But he couldn’t have been more delighted with William’s glowing description of life above the 60th parallel. “This place is what Canada is all about,” the duke of Cambridge told a cheering crowd of about 3,000 at the civic plaza beside city hall, “vast, open beauty, tough, resilient, friendly peoples. True nature. True humanity.” Behind him were the glistening waters of Frame Lake. Beside him and Catherine on stage were territorial leader Floyd Roland and Aboriginal dancers and drummers. William earned an even bigger roar of approval when he closed his brief remarks by adding his thanks in the languages of the Dene and the north coast Inuvialuit. After opening with a few words of French, the duke looked pleased at acing what may have been his first-ever quadrilingual speech.

The couple, having travelled almost 3,700 km from Charlottetown through three time zones, was allowed a late start Tuesday, and looked the fresher for it. Yellowknife, this time of year, is murder for the sleep deprived. The sun pulls 20-hour days, and the city is bathed in twilight for the remainder of what passes for night. Once up, the couple had a full agenda, “the full meal deal,” as the mayor put it. After opening remarks at the plaza, they watched demonstrations of Dene hand games (a form of gambling) and Inuvialuit high kicks. They also were presented with red Canadian Olympic hockey jerseys with “Cambridge” written across the back. They watched a brief but spirited game of street hockey with a group of young people. William picked up a stick, but failed at three shoot-out attempts to get past goalie Calvin Lowmen, despite the duke’s joking plea that “You’ve got to let one in!”

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Drinks with the duke and duchess

By Anne Kingston - Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 12:00 PM - 3 Comments

Paul Darrow/Reuters

The invitation, issued by the press secretary of “TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge,” was impossible to decline: a 7:10 p.m. drinks reception with the royal couple immediately after their arrival in Charlottetown on Sunday night. Just 200 or so journalists and provincial organizers for 40 minutes. The setting was shockingly intimate, given that royal tour coverage dictates the royals are always at least a three-metre remove from the ink- and digitally stained wretches. Following the couple around feels like being embedded in a military mission without any proximity: journalists wait hours in a slightly more privileged position than the hoi polloi for a glimpse of the couple, and are forever on the lookout for colourful crumbs with which to pad out reports.

The soiree had rules. It was to be casual, no cameras—which is like asking hunters who’ve been tracking big, exotic game to come face to face with their quarry stripped of their weapons.

The gathering was held on the second-storey deck of a casual restaurant overlooking the harbour. The night was gorgeous. Drinks flowed. Oysters were shucked, lobster rolls served and a fiddle band played. Before the newlyweds arrived, journalists were herded inside and divided by media type—Canadian, print, etc. Then the royals worked the reception line separately, each led by handlers. The prince came through first, shaking hands in a dark suit with a Canada flag pin, carrying a drink that looked like Coke, though he joked about wanting to have a couple of them. He’s an old pro at this—engaged, leaning in, making eye contact, quick to joke in a self-deprecating manner. Yet if you look closely, his jaw clenches; there’s tension there.

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Photo gallery: How to dress like a Duchess

By Anne Kingston - Monday, July 11, 2011 at 12:00 PM - 0 Comments

Click on a thumbnail to enter gallery

The royal visit: So much more than a photo op

By John Fraser - Monday, July 11, 2011 at 9:25 AM - 0 Comments

John Stillwell/Getty Images

Amongst the unbelievers of the Crown in Canada, you could almost touch the chagrin, from sea to sea, as the extraordinarily successful 2011 royal tour unfolded last week. William and Kate, the newly minted duke and duchess of Cambridge, the future king and queen of Canada, didn’t just come and see and conquer: they vamped us. They did it with warmth and charm and youthful sexiness, then topped it all with a reminder, unambiguous and impossible to ignore, that the ties that bound us “from days of yore” still have the power to renew something very important in our history.

“Will and Kate” are now part of the Canadian story. A big part. Those monarchists who have tried over the years, like Queen Elizabeth II herself, not to be “fair-weather friends” were almost as stunned as the unbelievers as they watched this beautiful and caring young couple walk into our tale and hearts with such aplomb and grace that they seem to have started a whole new chapter.

It was more than just a gesture that, on Canada Day, Catherine wore the maple-leaf-shaped diamond pin the Queen wears so often when she comes to Canada and that had been loaned to the future queen for this trip, the first great adventure in the couple’s married lives after their storybook wedding. The brooch was also a kind of talisman of the past joining them to the future.

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Letting their guard down

By Anne Kingston - Monday, July 11, 2011 at 8:45 AM - 0 Comments

Better luck next time: Will gives Kate, a far more experienced paddler, a hug after the race

Prince Edward Island is famously known as the cradle of Canadian Confederation. Now, after William and Catherine’s action-packed 24 hours in the country’s smallest province, it can also lay claim to being the incubator of a new, far more informal royal protocol. In the space of a few hours, the world watched the newlyweds competing fervently against one another in a dragon boat race, hugging affectionately after, then even more shockingly for anyone schooled in monarchical mores, eating in public, heretofore a no-no.

The island’s laid-back mood was clearly contagious. Even under a light drizzle, the couple appeared relaxed at their first official duty at Province House, the provincial legislature and site of the 1864 Charlottetown conference. The duchess was less formally attired than previously during the tour, wearing a cream knit dress with a sailor’s bow and navy stripes, nautical details that paid homage to the Maritime setting.

After signing the Province House guest book, handshaking and posing for photos, the duke and duchess greeted an enthusiastic crowd filled with “I [heart] Will and Kate” signs and T-shirts. “What are you doing standing in the rain?” Kate asked one speechless teenage boy who looked as if he’d faint.

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Capital charmed

By Randy Kim - Monday, July 11, 2011 at 8:40 AM - 0 Comments

Mark Large/Getty Images

It’s been called a royal tour and a media event, but for Prince William and Kate, it was surely something else: a nine-day “intro to Canada” crash course. The start was to be relatively slow and sombre: some mandatory basics in Ottawa, before peeling off to the regions for the fun stuff, like dragon boat racing and street hockey.

However, while the itinerary in the capital was predictable, the size of the crowds and the couple’s determination to interact with them were not. The mania for Will and Kate started in earnest at the very first event: laying a wreath and a bouquet of flowers on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. After that sombre occasion, the pair spent an unexpectedly long time mingling, talking to scores of veterans and ordinary citizens. (Some 25,000 were there.) The timetable went out the window—the Governor General was left waiting patiently at Rideau Hall—as the couple mixed with the crowds.

And this, it soon became clear, was not an isolated incident but a precedent. The usual rules of royal etiquette were abandoned for the entire Ottawa visit, not only by touchy-feely throngs determined to get face time with William and Kate, but also by the couple, who signalled their approval of the casual exchanges by shaking so many hands that British commentators speculated about the potentially hazardous consequences for the royal digits. No gesture, however casual, was ignored by the 1,300 accredited journalists confined to “media pens.” When William was offered sunglasses by a spectator on the Hill, he laughed, popped them on for a photo op—wild excitement amongst the TV cameramen—then returned them to their owner. It wasn’t just ordinary mortals who succumbed to the fever: two lines of RCMP officers were needed to hold back rows of invited Canada Day VIPs who had morphed into a squealing mob of Bieber-esque groupies.

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William and Kate’s great Canadian honeymoon

By Ken MacQueen - Monday, July 11, 2011 at 8:30 AM - 0 Comments

Phil Noble/Reuters

A royal visit is a lot like the lobster soufflé the duke and duchess of Cambridge whipped up during their 40-minute cooking class in Montreal. It’s a high risk-reward proposition: a miscue in the preparation, a sudden shock, and it flops like a spent party balloon. Ah, but done well, it is spun gold: savoury or sweet as the occasion demands, fluffy without being insubstantial.

As the nine-day visit of William and Catherine nears its close, the newlyweds have hardly set a foot wrong. They’ve enthusiastically embraced pursuits from dragon boat racing to road hockey with the same ease they’ve managed the traditional dinners, tree plantings and hospital visits. They’ve chucked out the schedule, and the strictures of protocol, to mix with those who’ve lined the route—as comfortable with the crowds as they seem with each other.

They travelled by frigate, helicopter and float plane; by motorcade, landau and dragon boat. In this, Catherine’s first visit to “the honeymoon capital of the Commonwealth,” as Governor General David Johnston put it, she’s experienced a concert by Great Big Sea, a Canada Day on Parliament Hill, and a citizenship ceremony. All Canadians should be as lucky.

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