Canadian Royal Family

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The Royal Family gathers in Lac-Brome, Quebec, 1976 (left to right: the Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Anne (now Princess Royal), Mark Phillips, Prince Edward (now Earl of Wessex), the Queen, Prince Andrew (now Duke of York) and the Prince of Wales)

The Canadian Royal Family is a shared royal family. This article describes the Royal Family from the perspective of Canada. In some other Commonwealth Realms, the concept, function and position of the royal family is similar, but the historical and cultural significance may differ. For information on the Royal Family in the other Realms, see Other Realms.

The Canadian Royal Family is a group of people closely related to the Canadian Monarch; it is a non-resident royal family, as those who comprise the group live in the United Kingdom. Those on the list carry the style His or Her Majesty (HM), His or Her Royal Highness (HRH), or sometimes The Right Honourable.

1 Composition
2 Duties
3 Styles
4 Awards to the Royal Family
5 Popularity
6 See also
- 6.1 Other Realms
- 6.2 Other
7 External links
8 Footnotes

[edit] Composition

Queen Elizabeth II, as Sovereign of Canada, is the head of the Royal Family; in a speech given at the opening of the Nunavut legislature in October 2002, she stated: "I am proud to be the first member of the Canadian Royal Family to be greeted in Canada's newest territory."^[1] Members of the Royal Family in the direct line of succession owe allegiance to the Sovereign in right of Canada. As such, according to the Department of National Defence, they are subjects of the Canadian Sovereign, although not strictly Canadian citizens (they fall under British nationality law), and thus, though they do not have an automatic right of abode in Canada, they are entitled to Canadian consular assistance and to the protection of the Queen's Armed Forces of Canada when they are outside of the Commonwealth Realms, and in need of protection or assistance.^[2]^[3]

The current Canadian Royal Family are members of the House of Windsor. Though the Canadian Crown is recognized as legally separate from the UK Crown, the two countries (along with the fourteen other Commonwealth Realms) are in a personal union relationship, meaning they share the same monarch. Thus, all the members of the Canadian Royal Family also comprise the British Royal Family. It has been stated by the Canadian Royal Heritage Trust that Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, father of Queen Victoria, was "the ancestor of the modern Canadian Royal Family."^[4]

Canada could potentially break from the symmetrical relationship with the other Realms, giving it a different Royal Family to that of the other countries. Canadian poet George Elliott Clarke has publicly opined on a fully First Nations or Métis royal family, stating "the project to create a made-in-Canada monarchy based in Aboriginal traditions would do wonders for national identity and national unity."^[5] However, this would contravene the important convention laid out in the preamble to the Statute of Westminster (a part of the Canadian Constitution).

The Canadian federal government maintains an official list of Royal Family members for matters of honours,^[6] As well, the official website of the Department of Canadian Heritage "Canadian Monarchy" section provides a list of Royal Family members, but has not been updated in several years, to take into account the deaths of Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (2004) and Angus Ogilvy (2004); or the marriage of the Prince of Wales to Camilla Parker-Bowles (2005), nor does it include the grandchildren of the Queen.

[edit] Duties

For more than two centuries, members have visited Canada to undertake official duties (as well as for leisure), though it was not until after the passage of the Statute of Westminster that the idea of Canada having a separate crown, and thus separate royal family, to that of the United Kingdom was considered. Thus, it was King Edward VIII who was the first member of the Canadian Royal Family to carry out duties on behalf of the country, when he dedicated the Vimy Memorial in July, 1936 - one of his few duties performed during his short reign as King of Canada.^[7]

Prince Charles greeting Canadians after undertaking official duties in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, 2001.

Since then, members of the Royal Family have regularly carried out two types of duties in relation to Canada. Official duties involve the Sovereign representing the State at home or abroad, or other members representing the Sovereign in Canada or elsewhere. Presently, the Department of Canadian Heritage is responsible for organizing events wherein members of the Royal Family represent Canada.^[8] Unofficial duties are performed by Royal Family members on behalf of Canadian organizations, through their attendance at charity events, visiting with members of the Canadian Forces as Colonel-in-Chief, or marking certain key anniversaries. The invitation and expenses associated with these undertakings are usually borne by the associated organization.

The first occasion when the Monarch undertook duties abroad was when, in 1939, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited the United States as King and Queen of Canada, accompanied by Prime Minister Mackenzie King, as opposed to a British minister. As well, in 1959 the Queen undertook a state visit to the United States as Queen of Canada, hosting the return dinner for then-US President Dwight D. Eisenhower at the Canadian embassy in Washington. The Queen, has also participated in Canadian ceremonies for the anniversary of D-Day in France, most recently in 2004,^[9] as well as Canadian events in the UK, such as when she dedicated the Canadian War Memorial in Green Park, London, in 1996; opened Canada House; or when a reception is held for Canadians at Buckingham Palace. Prince Charles, and the Princess Anne have also participated in Canadian ceremonies for the anniversary of D-Day in France, most recently in 2004,^[10] as well as Canadian events in the UK, such as when The Queen dedicated the Canadian War Memorial in Green Park, London, in 1996; opened Canada House; or when a reception is held for Canadians at Buckingham Palace.

Apart from Canada, the Queen and other members of the Royal Family regularly perform public duties in the other fifteen nations of the Commonwealth in which the Queen is Head of State (see, for example, List of Commonwealth visits made by Queen Elizabeth II). As the Crown within these countries is a legally separate entity from the Canadian Crown, it is funded in these countries individually, through the ordinary legislative budgeting process.

[edit] Styles

In Canada, only the Sovereign has a title established through law. Other members of the Royal Family are accorded a courtesy title, which is the title they have been granted in the United Kingdom.

Further information: Style of the Canadian Sovereign

[edit] Awards to the Royal Family

The reigning monarch of Canada is the Sovereign of the Order of Canada, Sovereign of the Order of Military Merit, Sovereign of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces, Sovereign of the Royal Victorian Order, and Sovereign of the Order of St. John.

Aside from awards which are personal gifts of the Sovereign, other members of the Royal Family are commonly awarded Canadian honours, either substantively or on an honorary basis: hence, Her Majesty the Queen Mother, for example, was an honorary recipient of the Order of Canada. The Canadian Forces Decoration awarded to her, however, was not honorary. Her Canadian honours were excluded from mention at her funeral in the UK, but were recognized at the commemoration service held in Ottawa.^[11]^[12]

Both Prince Charles and the Earl of Wessex have been awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit.^[13]

[edit] Popularity

The popularity of the Royal Family with Canadians, as well as individual members of it, has fluctuated over the years. Mirroring the mood in the United Kingdom, the family's lowest approval was during the mid 1980s to 1990s when the children of the Monarch were enduring thier divorces, and were the targets of negative tabloid reporting. Some recent poll results follow:

A March 2005 Decima Research Poll found some interesting support levels for members of the Royal Family. 71% of Canadians had a favourable impression of the Royal Family. Only 20% had an unfavourable impression of the Royal Family. The poll found that 28% of Canadians saw the Queen as their favourite member of the Royal Family, Prince William was second with 26%, Prince Harry was third with 9%, Prince Charles was fourth with 6% and Prince Philip last with 2% support.

An opinion poll conducted by Environics Research Group Ltd. for the CBC taken on the eve of Prince Charles' wedding to the Duchess of Cornwall found that 65% of Canadians support Charles as King. Only 27% of Canadians did not support him as King.^[14]