My zoom lecture on Royal Train Tours of Canada (from Spring 2021) is now available for purchase online from the Toronto Railway Museum.
Category Archives: The Monarchy in Canada
New Canadian Encyclopedia Article: King George VI
My latest article in the Canadian Encyclopedia is about King George VI and his relationship with Canada, including the 1939 Royal Tour and the Second World War.
Click here to read my article in the Canadian Encyclopedia about King George VI
New Canadian Encyclopedia Article: Joseph Whiteside Boyle
My latest article in the Historica Canada Canadian Encyclopedia is about Joseph Whiteside Boyle.
Nicknamed Klondike Joe, Boyle founded a gold mining company and became a millionaire in the aftermath of the Klondike gold rush. During the First World War, he equipped a machine gun unit and was a spy with the British secret service in Russia and Romania. He also reorganized the Russian military supply network, rescued Romanian prisoners of war and became the confidant and possibly lover of Queen Marie of Romania.
Click here to read my article about Joseph Whiteside Boyle in the Canadian Encyclopedia
New Reader’s Digest Article: The 10 Most Controversial Royal Memoirs Ever Published
Prince Harry won’t be the first royal family member to rock the boat with a tell-all autobiography. Here are 10 royal memoirs that changed the way we think about these famous families—and history itself.
Click here to read The 10 Most Controversial Royal Memoirs Ever Published in Reader’s Digest
New Canadian Encyclopedia Articles: King George V and the 1901 Royal Tour
My new articles in the Historica Canada Encyclopedia discuss King George V and the 1901 Royal Tour of Canada by the future King George V and Queen Mary, which set key precedents for future Royal Tours.
New Canadian Encyclopedia Article: Grand Duchess Olga
My latest article in the Historica Canada Canadian Encyclopedia is about Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna (1882-1960), watercolour artist, farmer and sister of the last Czar of Russia, Nicholas II. Grand Duchess Olga and her family fled to Denmark following the Russian Revolutions of 1917 and then to Canada after the Second World War. Hundreds of thousands of Russians immigrated to Canada in the first half of the 20th century. They included industrial and agricultural workers and members of the former Russian aristocracy.
Click here to read my article about Grand Duchess Olga in the Canadian Encyclopedia
Mississauga Heritage Interview: Exploring Royal Connections to the City of Mississauga
I discussed Royal Visits to what is now the City of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada in an interview with Matthew Wilkinson at Heritage Mississauga, part of the Ask a Historian series. Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna, youngest sister of Czar Nicholas II lived in Cooksville (now part of Mississauga) in the 1950s and I discuss her home and the royal relatives who came to visit including Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent and Lord and Lady Mountbatten.
Click here to watch Ask a Historian: Exploring Royal Connections to the City of Mississauga
My Article in Reader’s Digest Canada: Queen Elizabeth’s Incredible Life in 30 Quotes
In honour of the Queen’s 95th birthday, my latest article in Reader’s Digest Canada presents the life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II in 30 quotes from informal conversations to official speeches.
Click here to read Queen Elizabeth’s Incredible Life in 30 Quotes at Reader’s Digest Canada
I also discussed Queen Elizabeth II’s 95th birthday and the history of royal train tours of Canada with Janet Davison at CBC News
Click here to read The Queen turns 95: In mourning but unwavering in her role at CBC News
I discussed the Queen’s 95th birthday and Royal Train Tours of Canada with Breakfast Television Toronto on City TV. Click here to watch the interview!
My article in the Ottawa Citizen: Prince Philip and the modernization of the monarchy
My article in the Ottawa Citizen discusses Prince Philip’s role in modernizing the monarchy over the course of his more than seventy year marriage to Queen Elizabeth II. Click here to read “Prince Philip and the Modernization of the Monarchy” in the Ottawa Citizen
I also discussed Prince Philip’s relationship with Canada in a Global News Toronto interview in the Royal Suite of the Fairmont Royal York Hotel. Click here to watch “Looking back at Prince Philip’s enduring connection to Toronto, Ontario, and Canada” at Global News
I was interviewed by the Globe and Mail about Prince Philip’s life and legacy. Click here to read “Canada remembers Prince Philip for his ‘humour … devotion to duty’” in The Globe and Mail
I was interview by the Toronto Star about Prince Philip’s supportive role in his marriage. Click here to read “For all his flaws, Prince Philip showed men you can put a powerful wife first” in the Toronto Star
My article in Reader’s Digest Canada: Remembering Prince Philip: The Life and Times of a Royal Consort
I wrote a tribute to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1921-2021) for Reader’s Digest Canada.
I have also been discussing Prince Philip’s life and legacy on Canadian television:
For more of my thoughts on Prince Philip’s long life and lasting legacy, here some of my interviews with Janet Davison at CBC News
Family dysfunction: Prince Philip’s early life
Why Prince Philip was more than a ‘strength and stay’ for the Queen
No stranger to Canada: Prince Philip’s visits over the years