Category Archives: Royal News

Prince Andrew, the Duke of York Visits Vancouver and Victoria, Canada for the Victoria Day long weekend

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The Duke of York in the 2012 Trooping the Colour Parade with his younger daughter, Princess Eugenie

Queen Elizabeth II’s second son, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, arrived in Vancouver yesterday for four days of engagements in the province of British Columbia, Canada. In February, the Duke of York attended the opening of the new British Columbia Trade and Investment office overlooking Hyde Park in London. At the reception, the Duke announced that he intended to visit British Columbia in May.

The Duke of York’s visit consists of two days in Vancouver on May 16 and 17 and two days in the provincial capital, Victoria on May 18 and 19. In Vancouver, the Duke opened the new dock at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club, speaking with Canadian Olympic windsurfer Nikolas Girke. The Duke also visited the Royal Vancouver Rowing Club, where he was greeted by an “honour guard” of rowers standing with their paddles upright.

Prince Andrew, the Duke of York

In Victoria, the Duke of York will be chief of  the 150th Victoria Highland Games and Celtic Festival, presenting some of the awards for the Highland Dance competition. The Games attracted 20,000 attendees in 2012 and organizers hope that the presence of royalty will increase these numbers regardless of the weather. While in Victoria, the Duke of York will also dine with Lieutenant Governor Judith Guichon and present Duke of Edinburgh awards at Government House to British Columbia youth. Like his father, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Duke of York is interested in promoting youth athletics and his itinerary in British Columbia reflects this theme.

The Duke’s presence in British Columbia for the Victoria Day long weekend,  which is the Queen’s official birthday in Canada and a popular time for royal visits, also reflects his longstanding relationship with Canada and the Canadian people. In 1979, Prince Andrew attended the Lakefield College School in Peterborough, Ontario as an exchange student from Gordonstoun in Scotland.

Lakefield College School Crest

At the time of his term abroad, the Prince had already visited Canada during three consecutive summers, cheering his sister, Princess Anne, when she competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, accompanying his brother, the Prince of Wales to the 1977 Calgary Stampede and attending the 1978 Commonwealth Games with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. The Prince enjoyed his time at the Lakefield College School and returned on a personal visit in 1983 to join a student trip to the Northwest Territories.

The wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson in 1986 attracted widespread popular attention in Canada. Prime Minister Brian Mulroney sent the couple a pair of parkas as a wedding gift and established the Prince and Princess Andrew prize for photography in their honour, stating “These gifts will express the sincere best wishes of the people of Canada and bear witness to the affection Canadians have for the Royal Family.” Although the parkas reflected the royal couple’s interests, which included skiing and other outdoor activities, the gift sparked controversy in the press as it appeared to reinforce stereotypes about Canadian culture.

The Duchess of York and her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2009. Photo Credit: Brent Perniac/AdMedia/KEYSTONE Press

At the time of Prince Andrew’s wedding, there were rumours that the newly created Duke of York might be appointed Governor General of Canada and reside with the Duchess in Ottawa for a five year term. Other members of the royal family previously held this appointment including Queen Victoria’s son-in-law, Lord Lorne, King George V’s uncle, the Duke of Connaught and King George VI’s uncle, the Earl of Athlone.

During the reign of Elizabeth II, however, all Canadian Governors General were born in Canada and the Duke of York ultimately did not receive the appointment. In a 2009 interview, the Duchess of York speculated that their marriage might not have ended in divorce in 1996 if they had lived in Canada, telling the CBC, “We could have been Governor of Canada living in Ottawa in the Government House. It would have kept us together and we would probably be together now.”

The Duke and Duchess of York made well received official visits to Canada in 1987 and 1989, attending a diverse range of events including the Queen’s Plate horse race in Toronto, the 150th anniversary of the town of Cobourg and Jamboree 1989 at the Fort Amherst Provincial Park. The royal couple also undertook a fifteen day canoe expedition on the Hanbury-Thelon River in the Northwest Territories in 1987.

The Duke of York in Belfast for the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic in 2012

Since the Jean Chretien administration of 1993-2003, junior members of the royal family are no longer invited to Canada by the government for official visits. Nevertheless, the Duke of York continues to make frequent working and personal visits to Canada in support of the Lakefield College School, and his other Canadian charitable patronages and military appointments. The Duke of York is Honourary Colonel-in-Chief of three Canadian regiments, The Queen’s York Rangers, the Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada and the Princess Louise Fusiliers.

The Duke of York’s 2013 visit to Vancouver and Victoria reflects his decades long personal relationship with Canada, his interest in promoting trade relationships between the various Canadian provinces and the United Kingdom, and his patronage of organisations that support youth athletics.

Representing the Queen: The Prince of Wales to Attend Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2013

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The Prince of Wales

Buckingham Palace announced this week that the Prince of Wales will represent his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) this fall in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Queen is committed to her role as Head of the Commonwealth and has attended every one of these biennial meetings since 1971. The decision to send the Prince of Wales to Sri Lanka as the Queen’s representative in 2013 demonstrates that the 87 year old monarch is gradually reducing her overseas travel. In 2012, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh toured the United Kingdom in honour of the Diamond Jubilee while their children and grandchildren visited all the commonwealth realms to mark the occasion. The Prince of Wales’s representation of the Queen at the 2013 CHOGM is part of the broader pattern. Click here for my interview with Janet Davison of CBC about the significance of the Prince of Wales attending CHOGM on the Queen’s behalf.

The Queen reading the throne speech at the 2012 State Opening of Parliament

The Prince of Wales’s visit to Sri Lanka is also an example of the Queen carefully preparing her heir, and public opinion in both the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms, for a seamless transition between this reign and the next one. Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother lived to age of 101 and there is no reason to believe that the current Queen will not continue to reign for years to come but there is evidence that the Prince of Wales’s public role will continue to expand in the coming years in anticipation of his eventual ascension to the throne.

Prince Charles has participated in a number of high profile public engagements and commonwealth tours in 2012 and 2013. The role of Head of the Commonwealth is not hereditary. The Prince’s successful Diamond Jubilee tours of Canada, Australia and New Zealand in 2012 and attendance at CHOGM in 2013 affirm his commitment to eventually assuming this role and increase the likelihood that the Commonwealth Heads of Government will choose him as Elizabeth II’s successor as Head of the Commonwealth

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall

Today, May 8, the Prince of Wales accompanied the Queen to the State Opening of Parliament at Westminster with the Duchess of Cornwall, the first time he has attended this event in 17 years. While the attendance of the Prince and Princess of Wales at State Openings of Parliament in the 1980s received public attention because of Diana’s fashions, the 2013 event showcases Charles in his role as future King.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in Canada in 2011

Although Prince Charles’s reputation has improved considerably in recent years with greater public interest in his philanthropic and environment initiatives, successive opinion polls demonstrate that his mother, the Queen, and his sons, Prince William and Prince Harry remain more popular with the general public in both the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. The Prince of Wales’s second marriage to the former Camilla Parker-Bowles, his willingness to express his political opinions publicly and his increasing age have all prompted concerns about his suitability to become King. Prince Charles’s presence at high profile events such as the 2013 CHOGM and the State Opening of Parliament are all opportunities to demonstrate to the public that he has the experience and stature to serve as Head of State for sixteen nations in the twenty-first century.

As a young Princess, the current Queen experienced a similar “apprenticeship” from her father, King George VI that showcased her ability to effectively reign as a constitutional monarch through public engagements, wartime service and commonwealth tours. As Prince William explained to Robert Hardman in the 2011 book, Our Queen, “Back then there was a different attitude toward women. Being a young lady at twenty-five – and stepping into a job which many men thought they could probably do better – it must have been very daunting. And I think there was extra pressure for her to perform.”

The future Queen Elizabeth II and her sister, Princess Margaret in South Africa in 1947

George VI ensured that his elder daughter had the necessary training to overcome any skepticism about her ability to fulfill her constitutional role. Beginning in 1939, the thirteen year old Princess studied the history and structure of the British political system with Henry Marten, the Vice Provost of Eton College. During the final year of the Second World War, Elizabeth served at the Mechanical Transport Training Centre run by the Auxiliary Transport Service.

Princess Elizabeth completed her first commonwealth tour with the King and Queen in South Africa in 1947 then represented her father in Canada in 1951 and Kenya in 1952. If King George VI had not died in 1952 at the comparatively young age of fifty-six, this period of apprenticeship would have continued for decades in the manner of the current Prince of Wales’s preparation for his eventual ascension.

The Prince of Wales’s attendance at the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting as the Queen’s representative is part of a broader program of public events that present him to the public in his role as future King. Charles’s recent Diamond Jubilee Commonwealth Tours and presence at the 2013 State Opening of Parliament all demonstrate that he has been carefully prepared for the role of future monarch and that the Queen is planning for a seamless transition between her reign and that of her eldest son.

My Interview with the CBC about Possible Names for William and Kate’s Royal Baby

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As the Duchess of Cambridge’s due date nears, there is intense popular interest in what names William and Kate will give the future King or Queen. Click here to read my interview with Janet Davision at CBC.ca about the history of royal baby names and the choices the royal couple may make for the first child’s name.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Press

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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at a 2012 Olympic Gala

On April 29, 2013, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge celebrated their second anniversary. While the royal couple were almost universally praised during their first year of marriage, Catherine has been the target of criticism during the past year despite the happy news that the royal couple’s first child will arrive in July. Recent critiques and invasions of the couple’s privacy suggest that William and Catherine are still negotiating their relationship with the press.

Click here to read my full article about the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the press in the Kingston Whig Standard

The Abdication of Queen Beatrix and the Ascension of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands

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Willem-Alexander and Maxima, the new King and Queen of the Netherlands attending the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and Daniel Westling in 2010.

My article in today’s Kingston Whig-Standard, “All Eyes on the New King” discusses the challenges facing the new King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, who succeeded his mother, Queen Beatrix upon her abdication today. While the House of Orange-Nassau enjoyed near universal popularity during the Second World War, as a symbol of Dutch resistance and independence, there are now concerns that the royal family has become the most expensive in Europe and is more popular with older generations. It will be up to King Willem-Alexander, the first of Europe’s current generation of heirs to ascend to the throne to demonstrate the importance of the Dutch monarchy in the 21st century.

Click here to read the full article in the Kingston Whig-Standard

Click here to read my interview with Janet Davison of CBC.ca about Queen Beatrix’s childhood in Ottawa

I will also be discussing the Dutch monarchy on CJAD 800 AM radio Montreal on April 30 at 1:30pm

The Duke of Edinburgh’s 2013 Visit to Toronto in Photographs

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This morning (April 27), I joined the crowds outside Queen’s Park in Toronto to watch Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh present new colours to the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment. The ceremony was followed by a military parade in honour of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of York, during the War of 1812. Here are my photos from the royal visit:

The 3rd Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment at Queen's Park

The 3rd Battalion at Queen's Park

The Parade Honouring the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of York

The Duke of Edinburgh Arrives in Toronto

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Queen Elizabeth II’s consort, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, arrived in Toronto today, (April 26, 2013). The Duke of Edinburgh was named a Companion of the Order of Canada and will be presenting new colours to the 3rd Battalion of The Royal Canadian Regiment tomorrow, (April 27, 2013) I will be discussing the royal visit on CBC’s The National the evening of April 27.

Click here for my recent article in the Kingston Whig-Standard: “‘Good Old Phil’s’ Canadian Connections”

Click here for my interview with Janet Davison at CBC.ca about the Duke of Edinburgh’s long relationship with Canada

 

Why The Queen’s Annual Birthday Celebrations Take Place On Different Days Around The World

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Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh in Canada in 2010

Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 87th birthday today, April 21, 2013. The Queen is spending the day privately with her family at Windsor Castle. Tomorrow, the Queen’s birthday will be marked by the traditional 41-gun salute from the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery at noon tomorrow in London’s Green Park. The comparatively modest celebrations in honour of the Queen’s actual birthday contrast with the fireworks, parades and public holidays that accompany the sovereign’s official birthday, which takes place on various dates in different regions of the Commonwealth. The celebration of a monarch’s official birthday on a different date that the actual birthday dates from 1748 when the annual Spring Trooping the Colour became a celebration of the monarch as well as the military.

Portrait of King George II by Thomas Hudson

The earliest versions of the Trooping the Colour parade date from the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. At this event, regiments displayed their flags enabling all soldiers to recognize their regimental colours for use as a rallying point in battle. While the Trooping the Colour parade usually occurred during the warmer months of the year, the sovereign’s actual birthday varied, sometimes taking place at times that were less suitable for outdoor public celebrations. When the War of the Austrian Succession ended in 1748, the British Government decided to combine the celebration of the sovereign’s official birthday with the Trooping the Colour Parade.

The King at the time, George II, had led the troops at the Battle of Dettingen in 1743 and was closely associated in the popular imagination with his role as Commander-in-Chief. The parade took place again with the ascension of King George III in 1760 and became an annual tradition with the ascension of George IV in 1820.

King Edward VII in coronation robes

In 1901, King Edward VII, whose actual birthday was November 9, decreed that the Trooping the Colour should always take place in June, when the weather was more likely to be appropriate for an outdoor parade. Edward VII was also the first monarch to personally review the troops during the Trooping the Colour, attracting large crowds eager to see the sovereign parade down the Mall from Buckingham Palace after the decades of seclusion observed by the King’s mother, Queen Victoria.

The commonwealth nations have their own royal birthday traditions that often occur on different dates from both the sovereign’s actual birthday and the official celebrations in the United Kingdom. While the Trooping the Colour parade does not occur on a public holiday in the United Kingdom, a number of commonwealth nations observe the monarch’s birthday with a statutory holiday.

The Canadian celebrations in honour of Queen Victoria's 35th birthday in 1854

In 1845, the parliament of the Province of Canada declared Queen Victoria’s birthday, May 24, a public holiday. On the Queen’s 35th birthday in 1854, 5,000 residents of Canada West (now the province of Ontario) gathered outside Government House, (near King and Simcoe streets in modern day Toronto) to raise three cheers for Queen Victoria. After confederation in 1867, Victoria Day celebrations expanded to encompass picnics, fireworks, athletic events and torchlight parades. When Queen Victoria died in 1901, the Monday before May 24 remained a public holiday to honour the late sovereign for her role in Canada’s confederation. Victoria Day became Canada’s celebration of the reigning monarch’s official birthday with the ascension of Queen Elizabeth II in 1952.

The Queen wearing a traditional Maori cloak during a visit to New Zealand

In Australia, the monarch’s birthday has been a public holiday since 1788. Australian celebrations took place on the monarch’s actual birthday until the death of King George V when all Australian provinces but one agreed to celebrate on the second Monday in June each year. The province of Western Australia is the exception, celebrating the Queen’s birthday on either the last weekend of September or the first weekend of October to avoid conflict with Western Australia day in June. Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands celebrate the Queen’s birthday at the same time as most of Australia while New Zealand observes the occasion on the first Monday in June.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at the 2009 Trooping the Colour parade in London

Changes to the observance of the sovereign’s birthday have been a source of controversy. When Fiji became a Republic in 1987, following a military coup d’etat, the new government bowed to popular opinion and retained the Queen’s birthday as a public holiday. In 2012, the military government of Commodore Frank Bainimarama abolished this occasion. Labour ministry spokesman Jone Usamate explained the unpopular decision to remove a public holiday, stating, “The Queen’s birthday’s importance disappeared from Fiji when we became a republic and now our status is an independent nation. There is a focus on more productivity and growth, so as a result the decision was made to cut down on the number of holidays in Fiji, as holidays can be a burden on business and government.”

In Bermuda, the Progressive Labour Party government announced plans in 2008 to eliminate the June Queen’s Birthday holiday and replace it with a National Heroes’ Day in October. The decision resulted in 2,000 of Bermuda’s 65,000 residents signing an online petition to save the public holiday. “Clearly, the removal of our sovereign’s birthday as a public holiday is inexcusable,” stated petition creator Cameron Hollis, calling the decision “a blatant insult to Her Majesty.” Despite the protests, the Queen’s birthday was abolished as a public holiday in Bermuda in 2009.

The Queen’s actual birthday is today, April 21, but celebration of her official birthday varies across the Commonwealth. While the Trooping the Colour does not occur on a public holiday in the United Kingdom, the monarch’s official birthday is a statutory holiday in many commonwealth nations. Attempts to change the status of the Queen’s birthday in British overseas territories, such as Bermuda, or former commonwealth realms, such as Fiji, have sparked controversy as the holiday honouring the monarch is popular in numerous regions of the world.

Princess Alexandra of Cambridge? The History of a Potential Royal Baby Name

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The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge celebrating Canada Day in Ottawa in 2011

As of last week, British bookmakers slashed the odds to 2-1 that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s first child, expected this July, will be a daughter and that her name will be Alexandra. The addition of Alexandra to the list of most likely names for a Princess, which includes Elizabeth, Diana and Victoria, has prompted speculation of an information leak from the royal household. If the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s child is indeed a girl, Alexandra would be an entirely appropriate name for a Princess and future queen. The name has a long royal history and is currently a popular baby name among Europe’s royal, princely and grand ducal houses. I discuss how royal baby names are chosen in more detail in an interview with the Associated Press published in numerous newspapers today.

In medieval Scotland, Alexander (or Alasdair as it is translated in modern Scots Gaelic) was a popular name for Kings. King Alexander I of Scotland (r. 1107-1124), nicknamed “The Fierce,” was a complex figure famous for both his piety and his ruthlessness. According to chronicler John of Fordun, “Now the king was a lettered and godly man; very humble and amiable towards the clerics and regulars, but terrible beyond measure to the rest of his subjects; a man of large heart, exerting himself in all things beyond his strength.”

Coin depicting King Alexander II of Scotland

King Alexander II of Scotland (r. 1214-1249) joined the English Barons in their struggle against King John, becoming a party to Magna Carta. According to chronicler Matthew of Paris, “[King John] taunted King Alexander, and because he was red-headed, sent word to him, saying, ‘so shall we hunt the red fox-cub from his lairs.”  Alexander II ultimately achieved a period of peace with England by marrying King Henry III’s sister Joan in 1221. At the time of his death in 1249, Alexander II was attempting to gain control of the Western Isles from Norway.

Alexander II’s only child, Alexander III (r. 1249-1286) was the last King from the Scottish House of Dunkeld. The premature deaths of all three of Alexander III’s children prompted a succession crisis after the King died suddenly in 1286 by accidentally riding his horse over a cliff at night.  King Edward I of England assumed the right to choose the new Scottish dynasty, prompting the Scottish Wars of Independence, which lasted until England acknowledged the authority of King Robert the Bruce in 1327. The choice of Alexandra as a name for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s first born child would honour Scotland’s royal history.

Queen Victoria with her son, Edward VII (who was married to Alexandra of Denmark), her granddaughter, Empress Alexandra of Russia, Emperor Nicholas II of Russia and the infant Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaievna

The first English royal child to receive a feminine variant of Alexander as her first name was the future Queen Victoria. At the Princess’s christening in 1819, the only name her assembled relatives could agree upon was “Alexandrina” because her godfather was Emperor Alexander I of Russia. The baby’s father, Duke of Kent, stated that the child should also receive her mother’s name “Victoria” but that it should not precede the name honouring Alexander I. Victoria spent her infancy as baby “Drina” before assuming her second name for the rest of her life.

Queen Victoria’s eldest son, the future King Edward VII, married the most famous Alexandra in British royal history, Princess Alexandra of Denmark in 1863. The marriage was immensely popular with Queen Victoria’s subjects. The poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson penned A Welcome to Alexandra, which read “Sea King’s daughter from over the sea, Alexandra! Saxon and Norman and Dane are we, But all of us Danes in our welcome of thee, Alexandra!” While the future Edward VII’s reputation varied over the course of his lifetime because of his gambling and mistresses, Alexandra remained consistently popular for her beauty, sense of style, social graces and devotion to her children.

The future Queen Alexandra as Princess of Wales

While none of Queen Victoria’s daughters received Alexandra as a first name, it was a popular name amongst her granddaughters and great-granddaughters. Princess Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt, the daughter of Victoria’s second daughter Alice, assumed the name Alexandra Feodorovna as the consort of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia. As a Russian Empress, Alexandra became a controversial figure because of her perceived distaste for the Russian aristocracy, reliance on Gregory Rasputin as a faith healer for her hemophiliac son Alexei, and political influence during the First World War. Empress Alexandra was murdered by Bolshevik Revolutionaries along with her husband, children and servants in 1918.

Other descendants of Queen Victoria named Alexandra include Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, the third daughter of the Queen’s second son, Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh. She married a minor German Prince, Ernst II, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, and became a Red Cross nurse during the First World War.

Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg

Princess Louise, Duchess of Fife, eldest daughter of Edward VII and Queen Alexandra named her elder daughter Alexandra in honour of her mother. The young Alexandra of Fife was styled a Princess by her grandfather and succeeded her father to become Duchess of Fife in her own right.

Alexandra remains a popular baby name among Europe’s royal, princely and grand ducal houses. In 1991, Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg named their only daughter Alexandra. In 1999, Prince Ernst August V Hanover and Princess Caroline of Monaco also named their daughter Alexandra. If the current rumours are correct and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have a daughter in July and choose the name Alexandra, they will be following a long royal tradition that dates from the medieval Kings of Scotland to the modern princesses of Luxembourg and Hanover.