OTTAWA—Queen Elizabeth II rules an empire of 54 countries with a soft, gloved palm; a presence rarely felt though often seen on the backs of coins and the occasional royal visit, like the one she is making to Canada now.
Okay, maybe it’s more of a club than an empire, though most of those countries were once colonies of the British Empire, back when it was still cool to make empires. I know Americans really didn’t like being part of that empire and so threw some perfectly good tea away just to show it. But, it worked out pretty well for the rest of us. After that, the British royalty loosened up—so thanks.
Nowadays we call ourselves the Commonwealth of Nations and we call the current queen our sovereign, even if it is more in a fun, pretend kind of way, like a renaissance fair. But better than a fair—we get our own Olympics called the Commonwealth Games, which are pretty big.
But there are odd moments where it hits home that there is something a little more serious about having a queen.
Like the pledge all our members of parliament, military, and judicial figures take when they are sworn into office.
“I, [name], do swear, that I will be faithful and bear true Allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.”
That’s a little freaky the first time you hear it. Some people in the military even take a longer oath.
“I, [name], do swear (or solemnly affirm) that I will well and truly serve Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her heirs and successors according to law, in the Canadian Forces until lawfully released, that I will resist Her Majesty’s enemies and cause Her Majesty’s peace to be kept and maintained and that I will, in all matters pertaining to my service, faithfully discharge my duty. So help me God.”
What? What about protecting Canada? Nothing about hockey or polar bears?
And then there are the times when our parliamentary democracy goes haywire, and the queen’s representative, the governor general, has to run the show.
Like a couple years ago when Michaëlle Jean, the current governor general of Canada, or “G.G.” as we like to call her, actually decided the fate our country when the two dominant political parties weren’t getting along. Basically, three of the parties ganged up on the fourth party, which won the last election, and they were going to take over. The governor general stepped in though and shut down the whole show, kicking them all out of Parliament till they could get along.
Of course, that kind of thing only crops up in a minority parliament—when no one party has more than 50 percent of the seats—but still, that’s a lot of power for someone who is supposed to be a figurehead.
So in Canada, you grow up thinking you live in a country that likes to play medieval role-play games until one day, you find out that some nice little old lady on the other side of a really big ocean has the sworn allegiance of everyone running your country and her proxy, in rare situations, can run the whole deal. Strange, eh?
Happy Canada Day, Queen Elizabeth. We’re in your hands.
Okay, maybe it’s more of a club than an empire, though most of those countries were once colonies of the British Empire, back when it was still cool to make empires. I know Americans really didn’t like being part of that empire and so threw some perfectly good tea away just to show it. But, it worked out pretty well for the rest of us. After that, the British royalty loosened up—so thanks.
Nowadays we call ourselves the Commonwealth of Nations and we call the current queen our sovereign, even if it is more in a fun, pretend kind of way, like a renaissance fair. But better than a fair—we get our own Olympics called the Commonwealth Games, which are pretty big.
But there are odd moments where it hits home that there is something a little more serious about having a queen.
Like the pledge all our members of parliament, military, and judicial figures take when they are sworn into office.
“I, [name], do swear, that I will be faithful and bear true Allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.”
That’s a little freaky the first time you hear it. Some people in the military even take a longer oath.
“I, [name], do swear (or solemnly affirm) that I will well and truly serve Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her heirs and successors according to law, in the Canadian Forces until lawfully released, that I will resist Her Majesty’s enemies and cause Her Majesty’s peace to be kept and maintained and that I will, in all matters pertaining to my service, faithfully discharge my duty. So help me God.”
What? What about protecting Canada? Nothing about hockey or polar bears?
And then there are the times when our parliamentary democracy goes haywire, and the queen’s representative, the governor general, has to run the show.
Like a couple years ago when Michaëlle Jean, the current governor general of Canada, or “G.G.” as we like to call her, actually decided the fate our country when the two dominant political parties weren’t getting along. Basically, three of the parties ganged up on the fourth party, which won the last election, and they were going to take over. The governor general stepped in though and shut down the whole show, kicking them all out of Parliament till they could get along.
Of course, that kind of thing only crops up in a minority parliament—when no one party has more than 50 percent of the seats—but still, that’s a lot of power for someone who is supposed to be a figurehead.
So in Canada, you grow up thinking you live in a country that likes to play medieval role-play games until one day, you find out that some nice little old lady on the other side of a really big ocean has the sworn allegiance of everyone running your country and her proxy, in rare situations, can run the whole deal. Strange, eh?
Happy Canada Day, Queen Elizabeth. We’re in your hands.
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