It’s never a good day if you get accused of being racist, of being insensitive and callous to those suffering from mental health issues, and of being cold and distant and out of touch with the modern world.
So, following the bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview last week with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, it’s no surprise to hear that Buckingham Palace is in damage-control-mode, rejecting claims that the Royal Family is racist while stressing that the family will deal with the tensions raised by the Sussexes in private.
All families have their share of internal discord so it’s not surprising to witness that the Royal Family is not above this reality. But the Royal Family is different from other families. It is the “Royal” family. Its head, Queen Elizabeth II, is the Head of State of the United Kingdom, Canada and 14 other Commonwealth realms, with the Queen and her family standing as symbolic representations of these states.
AMMUNITION FOR ‘REPUBLICANS’
It’s not a good time, then, when this family is subjected to the allegations unleashed by the Sussexes.
In an effort to reduce tensions, Buckingham Palace released a statement last week, concluding with the sentence “Harry, Meghan and Archie (their baby son, and great-grandson to the Queen) will always be much loved family members.”
But damage has been done to the public image of the Royal Family. There are those, known as “republicans,” in Britain, Canada and the other Commonwealth realms who are opposed to the existence of the monarchy in these countries and who wish to see its abolition, with these lands becoming constitutional republics. This means that the head of state is not a king or queen, but a citizen elected or appointed by his or her fellow citizens.
Whatever the motivations were leading to the Sussex’s launching their criticisms against the Royal Family, and “the Firm,” the senior advisors and courtesans to the Queen and her senior family members, the Winfrey interview emboldens republican sentiment throughout the Commonwealth realms.
FURTHER EMBARRASSMENT
The Royal Family has now been portrayed as harbouring racist sentiments, of being reactionary, unfeeling of mental health issues, of being xenophobic and unwelcoming to multi-culturalism. And to those republicans who have long believed the monarchy itself is anachronistic, aristocratic, undemocratic and out of touch with modern, egalitarian, multi-cultural life, the Winfrey interview gives them ammunition.
Here in Canada, the events of last week come just months after the embarrassing fall from grace of Julie Payette, our most recent governor general. Madame Payette was found to be unfit for her office amidst allegations of abusive behavior to staff and of allowing the creation of a toxic work environment within Rideau Hall, the official residence and office of the governor general.
By mid-February, an Angus Reid national survey found tanking support for the position of the governor general in particular, and that of the monarchy in general, amongst Canadians. Forty-three per cent of survey respondents were in favour of eliminating the position of governor general, with only 22 per cent wishing to keep the position as it is.
DECLINING SUPPORT
As for the Queen and the monarchy itself, fully 79 per cent of respondents said that the Royal Family was either less relevant, or of no relevance at all, to them. Only 21 per cent claimed that the Royal Family was relevant.
And as for the future, while half of respondents support continuing to recognize the current Queen as head of state, just one-third believe that Canada should maintain the institution of the monarchy for generations to come.
So, does the monarchy have a future in Canada? Or is it time to sever this link with the United Kingdom? If so, how do we replace the monarchy? Stay tuned for my next column in three weeks.
Dr. David Johnson, Ph.D., teaches political science at Cape Breton University. He is also the author of ‘Battle Royal: Monarchists vs. Republicans and the Crown of Canada.’
