Listen Up! God save the Queen | Commentary

Hugh Mackenzie
Huntsville Doppler

Well, there has been quite a kerfuffle this past week over Oprah Winfrey’s interview last Sunday with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. In many ways, that was appropriate because much of what they had to say was important to hear.

For those who ask, “Who gives a damn about what Harry and Meghan have to say?”, I would invite you to check out the television ratings of that interview, which surpassed everything else that was going on last week and, indeed, with the exception of major sporting events, for much of the last year—17.1 million viewers in the United States alone, to say nothing of the rest of the world.

So, what was important? Was it the intrigue about what goes on inside the Royal Family? That’s part of it I suppose. There is an international mystique about royalty. Love them or hate them, many people want to be on the inside and know what is going on, both the good and the bad. After all, the institution is well over a thousand years old and there are many stories to be told!

But the really important stuff that came out of that interview was about mental health and racism. Not just because it was the result of Meghan’s and Harry’s experiences as members of the Royal Family. That was significant but not surprising and it should not be dismissed. But it should also be remembered that the Royal Family is just that—a family, albeit on a much higher pedestal, where much is expected of them and little is forgotten or forgiven.

Yet, it is the notoriety of the Crown that provided an extraordinary platform for Prince Harry and his wife to highlight the realities that many, if not all, families face in one way or another when it comes to dealing with issues of mental health and, yes, racism within their own circles. To pull the rug from under the feet of the Royal Family is to pull the rug from the feet of all of us.

To do it in such an extraordinary manner, to remind us all that mental illness is real and not a stigma and that racism is systemic, and to put it in personal terms that cannot be ignored, and to remind us that we all have an important role to play in dealing with these issues, is a significant step forward.

There are those of course who will use the interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, to further the case of abolishing the monarchy in both England and Canada. I respectfully disagree with that.

I have had the pleasure of meeting Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip twice, once at a royal performance at Roy Thomson Hall where I was a board member, and again at a state dinner in Toronto when Frank Miller was premier of Ontario.

When I was chairman of Muskoka, many years ago, I also met the Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret (very different from Her Majesty, I can tell you) and her daughter. They were guests at the cottage of John Black Aird, at that time the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.

Anne and I were asked to greet the Princess when she arrived at Muskoka Airport, which we did. The first words out of my wife’s mouth, being British-born and strict on royal protocol, were, “Oh goodness, she is not wearing any stockings!” That evening, there was a dinner for the Princess at a golf club in Muskoka Lakes, which we attended, and from which there, too, are many good stories to tell!

I confess to being a monarchist. I am not blind to its faults, or to the fact that its members are mere human beings, and that occasionally some will make an ass of themselves. But I also remember that the Royal Family have been instrumental in times of crisis, times of war, and when unity and a sense of purpose was essential to survival.

I am committed to a constitutional monarchy. For one thing, in Canada, our form of governance sets us uniquely apart from that of the United States, our behemoth of a neighbour. This distinction helps to keep our countries as friends but at arms length and unconnected. The last thing I believe we need in Canada is a system of governance that comes even close to that in the United States.

I have watched with some concern over the past year or so our penchant for cancel culture and regret that it is in this atmosphere that the debate of maintaining the monarchy in Canada will likely take place. Taking down statues, banning books (my goodness, even Curious George and Winnie the Pooh are at risk), apologizing for standards based on today for decisions taken a century ago—basically pretending the past didn’t happen and that tradition, almost by definition, should be abandoned is all troubling to me.

In my view, erasing our history and traditions will do nothing to remind us of what we have done right and what we have done wrong and what we need to accomplish in the future.

Cancel culture should not extend to the monarchy. It is still an effective form of governance and in spite of how the world is changing the Crown still remains popular to the majority of Canadians, although support for abolishment is growing.

The big question is how will this change when Queen Elizabeth, whose popularity exceeds 80 per cent and who will celebrate her 95th birthday next month, leaves this mortal coil?

Tony Burman is a foreign affairs journalist and recently wrote an opinion piece in the Toronto Star that Prince Charles, heir to the throne and well into his seventies, should stand aside upon the death of Queen Elizabeth and allow his son William, to ascend to the throne. Sadly. I agree with him.

If the monarchy is to survive, it must relate to younger generations and their lives moving forward. In terms of accomplishing this, Prince Charles is past his best-before date. In what is certainly becoming a rocky time for the monarchy, he needs to recognize this. Prince William’s popularity is high. His Father, who, over the years, has born the brunt of much of the Royal criticism, fairly or unfairly, does not enjoy significant support. He should get out of the way.

It would be sad to see a wave of republicanism in Canada. We see enough of that across our border. That, however, is the alternative to a constitutional monarchy. But the monarchy itself must step up to the plate. Like all long-lasting institutions it needs reform, it needs to relate to the diverse population it serves, and it needs to reflect standards, traditions, and forward thinking that are important to this day and age.

There is a line at the end of Gilbert and Sullivan’s famous musical, The Pirates of Penzance, where the Pirate King sings, “Because, with all our faults, we love our Queen”.

I relate to that. God bless the Queen…and the monarchy!

Hugh Mackenzie

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