Romana Didulo: Canada's False Pretender

The face of treason

There has been, since 2020, a woman in 
Canada claiming to be the real Queen of 
Canada. Her name is Romana Didulo. 
The basis of her claim to the throne? 
Nothing. No secret royal parentage and 
certainly no popular acclaim or noble 
support. Some media outlets in their 
eternal quest for neutrality use the word 'pretender' and 
repeat her self-granted title. But in this instance this is not a 
neutral stance to take as the word pretender implies some sort
of legal claim which Didulo simply does. not. have. The term 
the media is looking for is 'false pretender' as she is merely a
grifter and charlatan. Also, she has no claim to her second
self-declared title of 'Queen of the World' in case anyone was
​wondering.

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So Why Talk About Her?

For the same reason someone might discuss a train wreck or
terrible crime. How can you not talk about the spectacle of it
all? But if this was just about some looney making absurd
claims it wouldn't be worth an article. No, the reason I am
writing this post is because Didulo presents several kinds of
​threats to Canada, its people, and its monarchy.   

Threat to Canada

This is actually a larger section of this article than I think
people should reasonably be comfortable with. To date she
has instructed her followers (estimated to number between
60,000 and 70,000 based on subscribers to her Telegram
account) to 'shoot to kill' healthcare workers in November of
2021. She has also threatened execution against various
supposed enemies and sent pseudo-legal cease and desist
letters to various schools and other organizations.

Perhaps the most troubling thing she has done (despite her
efforts to distance herself) was to encourage 30 of her
followers to storm a Peterborough police headquarters and
'arrest' the officers present in August of 2022. This ended
about as well as one ​might expect.

While currently not an existential threat to government
institutions, the fact she has followers willing to go to extreme
​lengths does make her potentially dangerous.

Threat to Canadians

In most instances Didulo is more an annoyance than a threat.
Cease and desist letters can be trashed, threats of violence
reported, and protests ignored. Ironically, she is of greatest
danger to her supporters. By encouraging them not to pay
taxes and fees she has caused several to lose their homes. By
extorting money to fund cross-country tours she has reduced
several members to poverty. She has also left some of her 
supporters stranded on the wrong side of the country when
they started having doubts. She's an all-around dick is what
I'm trying to say. And while it is hard to have sympathy for
these people I will play moron's advocate and argue that,
maybe, the government shouldn't allow a swindler free reign
(heh, pun) to destroy the lives of the gullible and easily led.
That might ​just be me though.

Threat to the Monarchy

This one is a bit more nebulous. Monarchy is a venerable
institution. A person making a mockery of it degrades its
prestige. Didulo's personal behavior doesn't make this any
better as she is reportedly quite tyrannical towards her own
supporters. This reinforces a stereotype common in media
that monarchs can't possibly be good people. In one rather
pathetic account a mother wrote how she took her children to
see this 'Queen of Canada'. Didulo has no conception of the
role she is trying to claim. No regard for its responsibilities
nor its restrictions. All she sees is a licence to do what she
pleases. That isn't monarchy, its anarchy.  

Why Hasn't She Been Arrested?

This is a good question. She was brieftly detained after her
threats against healthcare workers in November, 2021 for a
psychiatric evaluation which she somehow passed. Computer
equipment was also seized. But other than this minor hiccup
she has been left alone. What could she be charged with?

Impersonation - In Canada it is illegal to impersonate
another person. However, Didulo isn't doing this. It is also a
crime to impersonate a police officer or military member but,
crucially, this doesn't seem to apply to any other government
position.

High Treason - Didulo hasn't tried to kill the king and
claims the Queen was killed long before her actual death. She
also has not engaged in war with Canada.

Treason - Didulo hasn't tried to overthrow the government.

The above leads to an interesting observation; you could build
up a parallel government in Canada and provided you left
actually removing the existing government to last there isn't
much the government could do. This seems like a loop hole 
that ought not to exist. 

Final Thoughts

Thus far Romana Didulo has been very good at knowing how
far she can push without trouble coming back to her. She is
playing a dangerous game though. No one has full control
over their followers, especially radical ones, and there will
always be a risk of one doing something that gets Didulo in a
great deal of trouble. Hopefully, no one gets hurt in the
process.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour