THE MONARCHY IS A LOUSY SYMBOL FOR CANADA

BILL LEE March 15   The Big Interview with Prince Harry, the Duke of Whatsit, and Meghan, Duchess of Whatsit, took place last night. I have no idea what all material was covered because I didn’t watch it. I didn’t forget, I just simply did not watch it. I never watch royal stuff as it is not in my line. However, some of the fallout from the event struck me as interesting. The chatter and the blather about the consequences from “The Interview” is all over the place today and will probably last more than one or two news cycles. Indeed, the event had been hyped for weeks with the hints that there would be some sort of “bombshell” information that would come out of it. And now it has. To be frank, as a Canadian (of Irish heritage which, I freely admit, colours my view of anything related to Great Britain), I have less than zero (nada, zilch, zippo) interest in the British royals and their personal dramatic to-ing and fro-ing. The members of this gang are an obscenely wealthy lot, for which they are paid by the suckers and rubes who make up their “subjects”. Not only do they come complete with a history of degenerate clowns and a contemporary, alleged, dissolute pedophile among them, but. In the words of Journalist Tony Burman (2021), “The Royal Family in the fulness of Queen Elizabeth’s 60-year reign, has presided over a racist, colonial past that still has its effects on present day behaviour – not only withing the family itself, but in ways that have encouraged other important institutions such as Britain’s contemptable tabloid press”. (IN7). Indeed, were it not for the fact that my own country maintains the absurd legal fiction1 that the Queen of Great Britain is our head of state, and that someone of her brood will inherit this lofty position, I wouldn’t care what the dynamic duo had to say about their struggles with what people are apparently calling, “the Firm”. However, it has now been vouchsafed to the breathlessly waiting public, thanks to Oprah Winfrey, doyen of celebrity interviewers, that the denizens of that institution/family (though apparently not including Liz or Phil) have treated Ms. Markle as a low-class gold digger. That in itself should probably not have been such a bombshell. After all they didn’t much care for the sainted Diana either, and she was an aristocrat when she married Charles, the heir to the throne. The British media has also apparently been pretty vicious about Ms. Markle as have the right wing media in the USA, accusing her of being a mean spirited woman who is never happier than when sowing division and strife among the Royal Family. As I said, I don’t much care about trying to sus out who is in the right in all this mud slinging in England and the USA.2 Apparently the big news is that the palace is rife with individuals of white supremacist, racist attitudes. It would seem that some one or other (or more) of the family was wringing her/his hands and ruminating about the possibility of the skin tone of H’s and M’s progeny being on the dark side. One gathers that there was not universal celebration that Prince Harry not only married a commoner, and an actress to boot, but Ms. Markle is, what society refers to as, “bi-racial.”3 As indicated, I don’t give a hoot about the Royals in most circumstances. But, in the case of this blatant racism, and that history of colonial dealing, I am wondering if this kind of news might start to make people think seriously about ditching the institution. Surely (I ask myself) will this not finally put paid to the notion that the monarchy has any claim to the fealty of Canadians? Surely these folks will see that their allegiance is to a pretty dissolute gang which, while all members may not be a bunch of knuckle dragging, slavering white supremacists, some obviously are. And the rest of the crowd, by remaining silent, and the Queen for not reading these low life's the riot act, are enablers and abettors. Surely this will make clear to our fellow citizens that they must cease going on about the relevance of this antiquated and corrupt institution to this country? Here in Canada, we are finally, and too often unwillingly, grappling with our own colonial white supremist infection/disease. How can any Canadian have the naivete to believe, let alone hutzpah to maintain, that this institution can have any moral sway and utility? Indeed, the royal establishment has always been a classist, racist institution. It was under Queen Victoria that the British Empire, the subjugator of so many not White populations expanded. The namesake of the present Queen gave John Hawkins a charter to ply a trade in African slaves4. (Royal Museum Greenwich) Our own colonial hegemony is rooted in the unjust, and all too often unhonoured, treaties which are in the notion of Monarchy. And now, the gang in the palace is rubbing our noses in what they stand for. To maintain this link is to join them in aiding abetting in some of the worst of human instincts. In so doing we are literally saying to Indigenous and people of colour that we approve white supremacy and colonialism. We can only hope then, that the decreasing number of monarchists among us will think , not simply the genuine utility of depending on such an outmoded ant-democratic and racist institution, but also the morality of having an nasty operation like the Brit Royal Family having any sort of connection to Canada at all. Resources Burman, T. (2021) “The individual who has emerged most damaged”. Toronto Star, IN1&IN7. March 13. Neustaeter, B. (2021). “Canadians' desire to drop monarchy reaches 'historic level'” https://www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/canadians-desire-to-drop-monarchy-reaches-historic-level-poll-1.5330650.March 2 Royal Museum Greenwich (undated). “Who Was John Hawkins?”. https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/john-hawkins-admiral-privateer-slave-trader _______________________________________________ 1 I use the term “legal fiction” here in the sense that Max Stirner spoke of property in “that, it exists by the grace of the law, not by fact, but a legal fiction”. In other words, the law says that the British Crown is our head of state, but if it ever attempted to assert that authority there would be “hell to pay”. 2 For what it’s worth, quite awhile ago, a good friend of mine who volunteered in the kitchen and dining area at a drop-in for street folks here in Toronto told me this story. One day a pleasant, young woman showed up to volunteer. Can’t remember how long this went on, but he told me he found her a personable and useful member of the team. He learned some stuff about her, that she was an actor working on some series being shot in Toronto and was from California. To cut a long story short, her name was Meghan Markle and sometime later he heard she had sent in a nice, healthy donation for the program. 3 We are informed by various media, by the way, that when the kid arrived his hue was, and I assume still is, pretty “white” so there must have been a big sigh of relief going around the castle. 4 She also ver kindly provided him with a unique coat of arms bearing a bound slave.