Governor General Michaelle Jean to be Replaced as Early as Canada Day

[Machjo]

Yes, but unfortunately; at least, the lack of possibility of any member of the Royal Family ever serving as Governor General of Canada, if not Charles himself. Because, really, we should have the heir to the throne do so.

Oh, I know we don't because we'd rather roll over and capitulate to the ridiculous myth that the Royal Family is British only; people in Ottawa and across the country wring their hands with worry about what the Americans would think of Prince William "governing" Canada. But, why hide from the reality that William is as much ours as he is the Brits'? Why cower away from this unprecedented example of multilateralism in a world that's fighting a (sometimes losing) battle against nationalist tribalism? Those who reject as a colonial throwback the idea that one of Canada's princes or princesses could represent the Queen here tend to do so in conjunction with a narrow, navel-gazing, pseudo form of Canadian nationalism that we really shouldn't be accommodating.

On a serious note, it would be quite fascinating to invite Prince William as Canada's GG. if he accepted the position, once crowned king, if he should choose to remain in Canada, then the UK would have to appoint a GG and Canada would no longer need one.

It could be humourouse to see the reaction on both sides of the Atlantic. I really would be curious to see the fallout from that.

[Machjo]

Then again, if Prince William committed himself to learning French, a French-English bilingual monarch, while certainly not a panacea for French-Engish relations in Canada, would go far towards appeasing French Canadians to some degree at least in that it would no longer be just the GG, but the King himself who'd know French, which could possibly lead to more acceptance of him from Quebec, especially if he plays well on the French connection in the history of the English monarchy.

Edited February 21, 2010 by Machjo

[Smallc]

French-English bilingual monarch,

Queen Elizabeth II speaks French very fluently.

[Machjo]

Queen Elizabeth II speaks French very fluently.

Well, we learn something new every day. I think I may have read that somewhere before, but have never heard her speak French to the best of my memory. Certainly a monarch residing in Canada, in Ottawa, a somewhat bilingual city not far from the truly bilingual Montreal and even monolingual French-speaking towns across his Canadian realm would likely use his French much more frequently and publicly than the Queen in England. The Queen may be near France, but that's beyond her realm nonetheless.

A more publicly French-speaking monarch would likely achieve the results I'd mentioned in my previous posts. Again, I don't believe it would serve as a panacea, and tense French-English relations would certainly continue; but it might alleviate the tension somewhat at least if monolingual Frencophone Canadians could identify at least a little more with the monarch. They might still remain mostly republican, but it might smoothen the those edges at least a little bit.

[Machjo]

Are you sure the Queen speaks French? I found the video below where she'd be most likely to use French (as she is addressing the President of France and his spouse). However, except for titles, the speech is entirely in English. She may know French, or knew it at any rate, if you are correct. However, even if she does know it, far off in the UK, she clearly forgot that she is the queen of Canada too. Had she kept that in mind, and if she genuinely knew French, she would most likely have used French. A monarch residing in Canada would likely be more conscious of this fact, and thus more conscientious in his choice of languages. A much more publicly bilingual monarch would likely influence not only Canada's perceptions of the monarchy, but also those of the commonwealth as a whole.

We should bear in mind though that this would likely cause some discussions in new Zealand about its other official language, Maori; and Canada's First Nations, Inuit and Metis might have some interesting comments on the subject too. But regardless of the discussions it would spark, it would certainly lead to much discussion of the role of the monarchy at th level of the Commonwealth.

[Smallc]

Are you sure the Queen speaks French? I found the video below where she'd be most likely to use French (as she is addressing the President of France and his spouse). However, except for titles, the speech is entirely in English. She may know French, or knew it at any rate, if you are correct. However, even if she does know it, far off in the UK, she clearly forgot that she is the queen of Canada too.

If she has been advised by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to go to France and meet with the French President, then she is not representing Canada at that moment.

[Smallc]

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Edited February 21, 2010 by Smallc

[Machjo]

If she has been advised by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to go to France and meet with the French President, then she is not representing Canada at that moment.

Fair enough. Good point. So I suppose a reigning monarch residing in Canada would be representing Canada when invited to the US, for example, while the British PM would then be inviting the British GG to go to France with him. Or would I be off base in such an assumption? Certainly the monarch of so many countries cannot be running around the world with all the PMs all the time without damage to health in the long run.

[Machjo]

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That list is questioned just below the list itself.

[Machjo]

Maybe she knows French; maybe she doesn't. But for the monarch him or herself, rather than just his or her representative, not only knowing but also using the French language extensively in public would undoubtedly have a symbolic value in French Canada at least.

How this would impact Canada and the monarchy, I'm really not sure, But it would certainly impact it in some way, and positively I would guess.

[Smallc]

Fair enough. Good point. So I suppose a reigning monarch residing in Canada would be representing Canada when invited to the US, for example, while the British PM would then be inviting the British GG to go to France with him. Or would I be off base in such an assumption?

A bit. We can advise Queen (or other members of the Royal Family) to go to another country on our behalf even now. Here is a list of state and official visits by members of the Royal Family and current and previous Governors General on behalf of Canada. Being Wikipedia, it may or may not be correct:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_state_and_official_visits_by_Canada

[Smallc]

That list is questioned just below the list itself.

I saw that, and agreed with the question, so I removed the link. She can speak French though, and you will see her do so when she comes in June - July.

[Smallc]

Princess Elizabeth also learned French from a number of French and Belgian governesses. It is a skill which has stood The Queen in good stead, as she often has cause to use it when speaking to ambassadors and heads of state from French-speaking countries, and when visiting French-speaking areas of Canada.

http://www.royal.gov.uk/HMTheQueen/Education/Overview.aspx

[Machjo]

I saw that, and agreed with the question, so I removed the link. She can speak French though, and you will see her do so when she comes in June - July.

I look forward to it. I'm not necessarily saying you're wrong. Though I respect the monarch and monarchy, I'm certainly not a rabid follower of the monarchy myself, which may explain why I'd never heard her speak much French till now.

I'll certainly look out for that when she visits.

[Machjo]

A bit. We can advise Queen (or other members of the Royal Family) to go to another country on our behalf even now. Here is a list of state and official visits by members of the Royal Family and current and previous Governors General on behalf of Canada. Being Wikipedia, it may or may not be correct:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_state_and_official_visits_by_Canada

I just looked at the list, and it seems we make much more use of the GG than the Queen, and this woud make sense seeing that with the UK having no GG, the UK is thus more dependent on the Queen than we are, and so we depend on the GG to free the Queen from too many duties running around all over the world.

So if a future monarch resided in Canada, I'm guessing the roles would be reversed. Canada would no longer have a GG, but the UK would adopt one. As a result, the monarch would represent Canada much more abroad while the UK would have to make due with the GG more often.

I'm guessing this would likely be a blow to the British psyche, would probably make the world news for a least a day and make the news in the Commonwealth for a few months as we analyze what this would really mean for the future direction of the monarchy. After all, we take it so much for granted that the monarch resides in the UK that it would certainly cause a real shift in how the monarchy would be perceived around the Commonwealth, with Canada being its new geographical centre. this would also likely mean a shift in relations across the Commonwealth. We generally associate the monarchy with the head of the Commonwealth, so if the monarch moved to Canada, this would literally shift the centre of the Commonwealth from London to Ottawa. That would be a significant change in the psyche of the Commonwalth, and would likely make Ottawa the new centre from which Commonwealth relations would be maintained.

[g_bambino]

Certainly the monarch of so many countries cannot be running around the world with all the PMs all the time without damage to health in the long run.

Well, it's been nearly 80 years; isn't that long enough a run to demonstrate that nothing too damaging will come of it? George VI and Elizabeth II even paid state visits to the US as King and Queen of Canada, respectively, and nobody's head exploded (though the Yank press did have a tough time suppressing their reflexive need to always write King or Queen "of England").

[g_bambino]

[T]he UK would have to appoint a GG and Canada would no longer need one.

A Governor General is constitutionally required in Canada. In the UK, the Queen already appoints representatives for when she's not present; they're called Counsellors of State.

[Smallc]

A Governor General is constitutionally required in Canada. In the UK, the Queen already appoints representatives for when she's not present; they're called Counsellors of State.

Yes, also:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Chancellor

Edited February 21, 2010 by Smallc

[ToadBrother]

Maybe she knows French; maybe she doesn't. But for the monarch him or herself, rather than just his or her representative, not only knowing but also using the French language extensively in public would undoubtedly have a symbolic value in French Canada at least.

How this would impact Canada and the monarchy, I'm really not sure, But it would certainly impact it in some way, and positively I would guess.

I doubt there's been an English or British monarch in almost a thousand years who didn't know French.

[Topaz]

How many languages does the Queen speaK? Answer.... http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_languages_does_Queen_Elizabeth_II_speak

[Machjo]

How many languages does the Queen speaK? Answer.... http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_languages_does_Queen_Elizabeth_II_speak

So is Swiss some new planned language now being taught in Swiss schools? Must be a recent thing I suppose.