Amazingly, and unbeknownst to many citizens, Canada has had the same head of state for 61 years. Queen Elizabeth II has been the reigning monarch of the British Commonwealth and the Queen of Canada since February 6, 1952. In this time, the Queen has conferred over 404,500 honours and awards, she has sent 175,000 telegrams congratulating people turning 100 across the Commonwealth, she has experienced the service of 11 Canadian Prime Ministers (the first being Louis St. Laurent) , 12 British Prime Ministers (the first being Winston Churchill) , 12 American presidents (the first being Harry Truman) and 6 Popes. Most amazingly of all, despite all of her time in power and the endless scrutiny, the Queen retains an approval rating of 90 % in the United Kingdom, and 73 % in Canada. She has been an enduring showcase of stability in the Commonwealth in a world that has changed drastically since her inauguration in 1952.
However, the Queen just turned 87 on Victoria Day (although she is still 86 in the United Kingdom and several other commonwealth countries, and her actual age is 87, wrap your head around that), and thus with her increasing age comes accompanying health issues. In March of this year, the Queen was admitted to hospital because of stomach problems, and was subsequently diagnosed with gastroenteritis. She was treated and released the following day. However, since her hospital visit, the press has noted a decline in her official duties. The most notable case is her decision not to attend the meeting of Commonwealth heads of government in Sri Lanka in November of this year. It will be her first time missing this meeting since 1973. Her son Prince Charles will attend the meeting in her place. Also, when the Queen reads the British Parliamentary for the coming session her son will be at her side for the first time. The involvement of Prince Charles in duties usually reserved solely for the Queen has raised much speculation on the direction of the British monarchy.
If the Queen wishes to decrease her involvement in her role as monarch, she has several options, the first of which would be to take no official action, and just let Prince Charles take over the duties of the Queen. However any official duties of the Queen, which in Canada are basically limited to appointing the Governor General who carries out the duties of the Crown, could only be performed by the reigning monarch. Her second choice would be to abdicate. Abdicating is the act of giving up the throne, and in this case it would be taken by the next in line to the Queen, or Prince Charles. An abdication of a Commonwealth monarch has not been seen since King Edward VIII, Queen Elizabeth II’s uncle, gave up the throne against the advice of the Royal family, the British Parliament and the Church of England, so that he could marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. This occurred in 1936, shortly before the chaos of the Second World War, and is considered one of the greatest embarrassments in the history of the British throne. Due to the infamy surrounding Edward VII’s abdication, and based upon word from sources inside Buckingham Palace, it is extremely unlikely the Queen would ever choose this option. There is however a third option that would allow Prince Charles to perform royal duties officially that would not require abdication. This would be his promotion to Regent.
In a Regency, Prince Charles would ideally be able to perform all of the Constitutional actions of the Queen in the entire Commonwealth. In Britain, the Regency Act permits this, and Prince Charles would effectively become King, except for in name, and would act as the Head of State. This is also true in Australia and New Zealand, where there is legislature that would allow the Regent to act as Head of State. However, in Canada no such legislation exists. This means that although Charles would act as the ‘de facto’ reigning monarch, only the Queen would be able to perform the duties anointed to the throne. This would mean that in Canada, either legislation would have to be drafted to allow Prince Charles to perform official duties, or the Queen, if able, would have to continue to perform her main duty of appointing the Governor-General.
However, for the Monarchy, their least concern is the constitutional difficulty in Canada of recognizing a regent. Instead, it should be the how the public would receive a change of monarch who for most has been the face of Buckingham Palace for their entire lives. Although there have been moments where her character has been questioned, most notably during the aftermath of the death of the former Duchess of Cornwall Diana in a car crash, overall the Queen has enjoyed overwhelming approval throughout the Commonwealth for the entirety of her reign. Even in Quebec, where 80% of the population favours the abolishment of the monarchy in Canadian system, 53% of residents still believe the Queen has done a good job. Prince Charles, however, is a far less popular figure. Even in Britain, where 69% of respondents favoured the continuation of the Monarchy, only 39% agreed that the Crown should be passed to Prince Charles. In Canada, a recent poll showed that 8/10 Canadians believed that once the Queen’s reign ends, so too should Canada’s tie to the Monarchy.
This is a figure that may or may not be changed by a decision in which Prince Charles would agree to allow Prince William, his son and recent husband of the extremely popular Kate Middleton, to succeed to the throne once the Queen passes. However, Charles’ recent involvement in duties usually reserved for the Queen suggests this is also unlikely. Charles’ lack of popularity is largely due to some gaffes with the press and most notably for his widely perceived and highly publicized mistreatment of the highly esteemed Diana and his adulterous relationship with the current Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla. If Charles were to become King, the even more unpopular Camilla, often the butt of jokes for her less than pageant like looks would become Queen. Although superficial, most Canadians would likely prefer the youthful William and Kate as the ruling couple then the sixty-something balding and much maligned Charles and his wife Camilla, who fairly or unfairly will always be associated with the Diana saga.
In the end, the Queen has done well. She has been a symbol of stability throughout the entire Cold War, several high profile wars in the Middle East and in the Falklands Islands, and within Canada she has maintained good relations with Prime Ministers and Governor Generals of all kinds. Despite her age, she too has modernized with the world, she first sent an email in 1976, she loves the Wii, she has an iPad and she now has a Facebook page. However at 87 years old, the Elizabethan era is coming to an end. The question that remains is will there be a Charlesian era, and if so, will Canada be a part of it?
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