Blog Archives

The Time A Prince Went Crowd-Surfing

2/22/2018

Edward during the Great War

I am making my way through
David Johnson's new book Battle
Royal when I came across what is
likely the only recorded case of a
royal crowd-surfing. The context
of this event was the 1919 Royal
Tour by Prince Edward (the future
King Edward VIII). The prince was
scheduled to inspect some
veterans of the recently-ended
Great War in Toronto when there
was a slight breakdown in
discipline. It serves as an excellent
example of the fondness our men
and women in uniform continue to
have for their sovereign. Below is
the account Edward recorded in
his memoirs.

"The moment I appeared the veterans broke ranks and,
cheering and yelling, surged around me. At first my mount
showed commendable control. Then, as the human mass
engulfed us both, I felt its body quiver. Fortunately, even if
its instinct had been to rear up and bolt, the crowd held it as
a vise. The next thing I knew I was being lifted off the horse's
back by strong hands and passed like a football over the
heads of the veterans. Disheveled, shaken and breathless, I
eventually found myself on the platform, clutching the
crumpled notes of my speech. The roar of cheering had
changed to laughter. I wish Papa could have seen this."

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Republican Resolution Submitted to the 2018 NDP Policy Convention

2/14/2018

The New Democratic Party of Canada is holding its policy
convention this weekend in Ottawa. The Monarchist
League of Canada was tipped off that a resolution has been
submitted for debate on ending the Canadian monarchy:

The League has been told that there is a good chance the
resolution will not even be considered (which is standard for
conventions with large numbers of policy suggestions).
However the League has suggested two courses of action to its
members. 1. Contact convention delegates to express concern
about the resolution and 2. Write a polite letter to the NDP's
leader Jagmeet Singh to state support for the crown and
opposition to the position in the above resolution.

Trouble-making during policy conventions is nothing new
(the Liberal Party had a similar motion come up at their
policy convention years ago which was voted down). However,
after an extremely disappointing result in the last election and
a growing feeling that the NDP has traded its principles for a
shot at power it is not inconceivable that this resolution could
pass as a sort of 'feel good gesture'. That is assuming it comes
up for a vote at all.

This motion comes on the heels of of Jagmeet Singh making
clear he is less than supportive of the monarchy. It is
possible some members proposed this motion in the hope
that Mr. Singh would be more inclined to support it than
previous leaders. It is a disappointing development which
may yet come to nothing. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Several members of the Monarchist League's
youth wing successfully blocked the resolution at the policy
panel stage. It will not be debated during the plenary sessions.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

The Canadian Crown Jewels

2/8/2018

While my last search was side-tracked I still wanted to do
a post about the Canadian Crown Jewels. I sent an inquiry in
to the Governor General's office seeking more information. I
quickly found out that no items have ever been designated as
such. Canada does have a Crown Collection which includes
works of art, furniture, rugs, & other items used for furnishing
the various official residences in Canada but that is not quite
the same. This got me thinking about what items might
constitute Canada's Crown Jewels in an unofficial sense.
Which begs the question: What are crown jewels?

Wikipedia has a list of some common attributes of crown
jewels on their site.
1. Objects of metal work and jewelry in the monarch's regalia.
2. Used by the monarch during special occasions.
3. Often depicted in portraits of the monarch.
4. Symbolize the continuity of the monarchy.
5. Conservative in appearance (see #4).
6. Items remain largely unchanged (see #4 & #5).
Ok, with a clearer idea what constitutes a 'crown jewel' we can
begin to examine possible candidates.

St. Edward's Crown

The only entry in this list which is
also a part of the British Crown
Jewels. It is notable that since the
Canadian Crown became distinct
from the British Crown in the 1930s
it is the only one that the monarchs
have been crowned with at their
coronations. The significance to
Canada really only began with the
reign of Queen Elizabeth II though.

Queen Elizabeth preferred St. Edward's Crown be the heradic
representation of the monarchy in her realms. It replaced the
earlier Tudor Crown (which is not a physical crown) in this
purpose. As such, when you see a crown displayed in an
official capacity in Canada it most likely is St. Edward's Crown
you are seeing.

Maple Leaf Brooch

The Queen's Maple Leaf Brooch
has an interesting history. King
George VI originally bought it for
his wife, Queen Elizabeth (the
Queen Mother) on the occasion of
their first state visit to Canada in
1939. This was the first royal tour
of Canada by a reigning monarch.
The brooch was worn frequently
throughout the tour.

It has often been loaned out to members of the Royal Family
when they perform roles related to the Canadian Crown.
Queen Elizabeth II was the first to borrow it when she was
still a princess. She wore it on her first trip to Canada in 1951.
Both Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and Kate, Duchess of
Cambridge, have worn the brooch on their respective royal
tours. The brooch was also worn for the Queen's official
portrait in 2017 to celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary.

Sapphire Jubilee Snowflake Brooch

This brooch was presented to Her
Majesty on July 19th, 2017 at Canada
House in London, England. It was
made both to celebrate the Queen's
Sapphire Jubilee and Canada's 150th
anniversary. This brooch is meant
to be a companion to the Maple Leaf
Brooch.

The sapphires were discovered on Baffin Island by two Inuit
brothers, Seemeega and Nowdluk Aqpik in 2002. It remains
the only deposit of sapphires ever discovered in Canada.

Last Spike Pin

The Canadian Pacific Railway was
completed in 1885. To mark the event
a small ceremony was conducted as
the last spike was driven in. Donald
Smith, who provided financial backing
for the railway, drove the last spike
and... quickly bent it. The bent spike
was removed and later presented to
Donald Smith as a memento. He had
several pins made from the spike.

The pin is conservative in appearance and is in the shape of a
railway spike. It has 13 diamonds along its length with a single
round piece of iron from the last spike itself in the center.
There were an indeterminate number of pins like this made
(partly due to the jealousy they invoked in the leadership of
the railway company) and the last spike itself has evidence of
having been drilled liberally. Four examples of the pin are
known to exist. The one that was presented to the railways'
president, George Stephen, was donated to Canada's Crown
Collection by a descendant. The Governor General or their
consort wear it for special events. It is the singular piece of
jewelry in the Crown Collection and signifies an event that
helped tie the young country together.

Saskatchewan Tourmaline Brooch

Ok, one might get the impression
that if these items can be considered
a part of Canada's Crown Jewels they
are all very transportable. And indeed
the monarch and vice-regal office
holders are often on the move when
carrying out their duties. Like one of
the other examples above this brooch
was a gift for Her Majesty.

The brooch was presented to Her Majesty in 2013 by the
Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan, Vaughn Schofield. It
was created by a jeweler in Regina. The brooch quickly
entered Her Majesty's rotation of brooches. Sadly, we are not
likely to see the Queen wear it on Canadian soil as Her
Majesty does not travel long distances anymore.

Concluding Remarks

This has been a brief overview of items I feel belong to an
unofficial Crown Jewels of Canada. There could very well be
others with their own stories to tell about the Canadian
Crown. And, who knows, maybe one day someone will
designate these items as being officially Canada's Crown
Jewels.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Threatening Tweet sent by Turgid Twits

2/1/2018

A student organization at the University of Liverpool is in a
bit of hot water over a tweet it made on January 29th (since
deleted). The University of Liverpool Labour Students
seemed to advocate in the tweet that Queen Elizabeth II be
beheaded:

They have since apologized and stated the tweet was 'tongue-
in-cheek'. Now, this is not the first time in recent memory that
an organization/person connected to the Labour Party has
said some stupid thing and then justified it by claiming it was
all a joke.

But let us take them at their word that this was a joke rather
than a serious proposal. What kind of people joke about the
execution of another person, let alone their head of state?
Especially, when actual beheadings are becoming much more
common with the rise of ISIS. But civility is declining
everywheres it seems. The president of the Philippines has
joked about rape multiple times and in one notable
instance about eating someone.

It is concerning when these 'jokes' are made because it shines
a light on what the person thinks are acceptable norms in
society. On the flip side it makes light of a terrible period in
English history. Had there been no outcry that tweet would
still be up and they would be fine with it.

To the credit of many Labour Party members on campus they
quickly distanced themselves from the comments made by
their student leadership. For my part I sent a quick email to
the Vice-Chancellor expressing my concerns about this
incident. This is important as the actions of a few students
reflects poorly on the University of Liverpool as a whole.

UPDATE: The Vice-Chancellor has replied to my email. The
full text of this reply is at the bottom of this post.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Dear [Name Redacted]

The Vice-Chancellor thanks you for your email.

Colleagues from the Liverpool Guild of Students have spoken to the society about
this inappropriate post and, as you will have seen, this was taken down and an
apology posted. We are now working with the Guild of Students to speak to student
societies about their use of social media.

Regards
Lindsey
Executive PA to the Vice-Chancellor