Prince Charles, the Prince Of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall arrive at Ascot Racecourse Gareth Cattermole Prince Charles, the Prince Of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall arrive at Ascot Racecourse
The return to Canada of Prince Charles provides an opportunity to look again at the institutional eccentricity of the Canadian monarchy. It has received completely inadequate attention, here and in Australia and New Zealand, for its novelty. These are all among the most successful and promising countries in the world, and no other serious countries in history have had a non-residential monarchy.
Mercifully, Canada has graduated from the adolescent self-consciousness of an insecure country preoccupied with the symbolism of national sovereignty, and concerned that a British royal family which comes among us fairly disparately and randomly, includes our chief of state. But it has not quite reached the point of appreciating the endearing originality of this system.
Of course it's an anachronism, but most Canadians would now say that there is nothing wrong with that. But most would also decline to subscribe themselves as committed monarchists. The old Quebec reservations about the monarchy were attached to ancient and discredited nonsense about French Canadians being drafted to fight the battles of an empire that had gained rulership of them by force.
In fact, they were abandoned by sticky-fingered French colonists who preferred retention of Guadeloupe and Martinique to Voltaire's notorious "few acres of snow" in Quebec, and who took everything with them when they fled except the roofs off their seigneurial manors. Only the clergy remained behind to preserve the French language. The French Canadians and the greatest of the British governors, Sir Guy Carleton, (Lord Dorchester), struck one of the most brilliant bargains of British Colonial history, the Quebec Act of 1774.
This assured the rights of the French language, the Roman Catholic Church and the Civil Law. And the French Canadians, on the verge of the American Revolution, pledged allegiance to the British crown.
Both sides faithfully adhered to the agreement, and the French Canadians sent Benjamin Franklin and the then revolutionary Benedict Arnold packing from Montreal and beneath the walls of Quebec.
After its lengthy and inexpressibly irritating flirtation with the fantasy of a two-cake political regime of sovereignty and association, i.e. exchanging embassies with the world while continuing to receive transfer payments, Quebec is gradually returning to the canny and constructive spirit that gave us the Quebec Act and the Pact of Confederation.
In this atmosphere of revenant political rationalism, the status of the royal family, whose principals have always been respected personally in Canada, is not an issue at all. And the monarchy may yet, surprisingly, be a very useful complement to the foreign policy of its leading constituent states.
Of course it should be updated, perhaps by making the monarch co-chief of state in the overseas countries, with a domestic governor-general (now a campy colonial title), or president, endowed with enhanced status and a more legitimizing form of selection than nomination by the prime minister.
Canada could be both a Realm and a Republic, according to the individual preferences of its adult population: all would be citizens, and those who wished would also be Commonwealth subjects. The only form of orthodox republic that makes any sense is the American and French model where the president is chief of state and head of government, effectively monarch and prime minister. (The French prime minister is really a disposable vice-president.) Ceremonious presidents as in Germany and Italy are just pallid replacements of deposed royal houses, rotated through every five years. They have none of the mystique or pageantry of a monarch, and are on a treadmill to be ever more "democratic," i.e. pedestrian.
Where the monarchy we have could yet take on another life is as the head of the rumpled but perhaps still recyclable Commonwealth. The perseverance of British traditions in most of the Commonwealth countries is an amiable fraud, if not a degradation, as in Zimbabwe. The credibility of it as a fraternity of tradition-sharing states is not raised by the presence of Mozambique, which was never British territory, and was admitted at the request of Nelson Mandela after he divorced the terrifying Winnie and wed the widow of Mozambican President Maputo.
Whatever happens with the Lisbon Treaty, the British public does not want to go any further or deeper into the floundering and over-bureaucratized European Union. Good relations between those 27 ancient nationalities is something to celebrate, but the dreams of dancing sugar plums of some of its champions, of the restoration of world leadership to Europe, is bunk.
The prospect of closer association with the United States is chimerical, as that country has become inexplicably erratic; it is also undesirable because of that country's urgent need for profound economic, social and legal reform; and it is impossible because of America's aversion to any power-sharing. The only international organizations to which the U.S. concedes any authority are those which it runs itself: NATO and the IMF.
Yet this is a time when compatible nations are wise to group together. The U.K. will remain in the EU and Canada in NAFTA, but something could be done with a senior tier, or Primary Commonwealth, composed of the U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, and perhaps Malaysia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates (which would have to be drafted into the existing Commonwealth first).
Such a group would be composed of countries that do share some traditions, are mainly English-speaking (the EU Parliament at Strasbourg has more interpreters than members), have hard currencies and are democracies (with a bit of liberalization in the UAE). They would have
combined GDP of about $7-trillion, nearly half the United States and the EU, and about the same as China and Japan combined. They would have over 200-million people not counting India, and could take integration as far as convenient, without trying to force the pace in the annoying EU manner, with Brussels' endless pettifogging directives on the size of condoms and bananas and so forth.
The advanced countries could participate in the burgeoning growth of India, coordinate foreign aid and policy, trade and even monetary policy. Such a grouping would not be at the expense of any other country or international association.
What a remarkable trajectory this monarch would then have followed. Queen Elizabeth II well remembers her parents' visit to the United States and Canada in 1939, building vital relations on the eve of war. She was already an adult when the Palestine Mandate and the British Indian Empire were dissolved, and has reigned with serene distinction through 57 difficult transitional years.
Prince Charles deserves a warm welcome in this country. He likes Canada, knows it well, and has a number of friends here. He has recovered well and completely from the buffetings and infelicities of earlier days, when his estranged wife was running a parallel monarchy, and from the sadness and ultimately the tragedy of that marriage. The Duchess of Cornwall is an unambiguously apt and gracious person, and the imperishable and strangely useful institution of the monarchy will be in good hands when their time comes.
'A PEOPLE VERY DEAR TO MY HEART'
"I can hardly believe that this is my fifteenth visit and I am greatly looking forward to introducing my wife to a country and a people which are very dear to my heart. For her part, my wife could not be more pleased to investigate the origins of one branch of her own family." So said Charles, Prince of Wales, in an official statement on the prospect of a Canadian visit -- the first ever with his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. They will touch down in Canada on Monday to launch their 11-day cross-country visit. The National Post's Kathryn Blaze Carlson wraps up some of the highlights of this tour and tours past.
ITINERARY
Newfoundland and Labrador St. John's, Cupids and Brigus
Ontario Toronto, Hamilton, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Petawawa and Ottawa.
B.C. Victoria and Vancouver.
Quebec Gatineau and Montreal.
HIGHLIGHTS
Nov. 2 The official welcome to Canada will be held at 5:15 p.m. at Mile One Centre in downtown St. John's. Nov. 5 The Duchess of Cornwall visits Hamilton's Dundurn Castle, which her great-great-great grandfather, Sir Allan MacNab, built in 1835. Nov. 5 The Prince of Wales, accompanied by The Duchess of Cornwall, will present colours to the Toronto Scottish Regiment and the Royal Regiment of Canada at 5 p.m. at Varsity Stadium in Toronto. Nov. 6 Official welcome to British Columbia at 4:00 p.m. at the provincial Parliament Buildings, pictured, in Victoria. Nov. 7 The Royal Couple will tour Vancouver's Olympic and Paralympic Village. Nov. 8 Will attend a service at Victoria's Christ Church Cathedral. Nov. 10 The Prince will visit the Biodome and the Cirque du Soleil headquarters in Montreal. Nov. 11 The Royal Couple will participate in the National Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa.

ABOUT CHARLES
Charles Philip Arthur George was born at Buckingham Palace on Nov. 14, 1948. The Prince became the first heir apparent to go to school rather than have a private tutor. In 1981, Charles married Lady Diana Spencer, who then became Princess of Wales. They had two sons, His Royal Highness Prince William Arthur Philip Louis, in 1982, and His Royal Highness Prince Henry Charles Albert David, in 1984. Prince Charles and Diana separated in 1992, and then divorced in 1996. Princess Diana died in a car crash in the following year.
MEMORIES OF CANADA
"Every time I come to Canada, and I've been here many times since 1970, a little more of Canada seeps into my bloodstream," Prince Charles said during a 1996 trip to Canada. "And from there, straight into my heart." 1970 Celebrated the Centennial of the Northwest Territories and the 100th anniversary of Manitoba's entry into Confederation. 1976 Attended the Montreal Olympics. 1977 Attended the Calgary Stampede 1980 Spent one night at Government House in Ottawa, the official residence of the Lieutenant-Governor. 1986 Opened Canada Place and Expo '86. 1998 Hit the slopes in Whistler, B.C., with his two sons. 2001 Prince Charles' most recent trip to Canada, in which he visited the National Capital Region, Saskatchewan and the Yukon.
MEET THE ROYALS
How to address "Members of the Royal Family are called Your Royal Highness initially and Sir/Ma'am as the conversation continues," according to guidelines released on the Canadian government's Official 2009 Royal Visit website. Curtsy/bow It is up to those meeting The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh and other members of the Royal Family to choose whether or not they wish to bow/curtsy or simply shake hands, the website explains. For men, a neck bow will suffice-- "just a little more than a nod of the head," the website advises. For women, the right foot is placed behind the left heel, and the knees bent slightly. Dress "Members of The Royal Family do not wish anyone to be put to unnecessary expense by buying special clothes, hats or gloves," the website assures the public.
HITCHING A RIDE?
The Canadian government caught flak for footing the bill for a chartered military Airbus to fly the royal couple to and from the U.K., as well as across the country. The U.K. Press Association recently reported that the jet will also be used for "military purposes" on its flight to pick up the royals and on its return to Canada after the junket.
ABOUT CAMILLA
The Duchess of Cornwall, previously known as Camilla Parker Bowles, was born into the English elite in 1947. Upon marrying Prince Charles, she became Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall and declined the use of the title Princess of Wales. The Duchess of Cornwall is also the great-great-great-granddaughter of Sir Allan MacNab, who was prime minister of the Province of Canada before Confederation.
VOICES
About 57% of Canadians believe Charles should become king after the death of Queen Elizabeth, rather than pass the crown to his son, Prince William, according to a new poll. That number is up from only 51% in 2005 -- the year Charles and Camilla married. A further 53% said Canada should end its constitutional ties to the monarchy after the Queen dies, while 49% said Canada should actually abandon its constitutional monarchy structure and become a republic, with an elected head of state. Lastly, 60% said the Queen and the Royal Family should have no formal role in Canadian society, and that they are "simply celebrities and nothing more." The Ipsos-Reid poll of 1,005 people was conducted in late October. It is considered accurate within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

GIVING THE FINGER
In a letter published earlier this month in Le Quebecois, the president of Reseau de Resistance du Quebecois wrote that the royal visit "puts a finger in the eye" of the province's people and history. Patrick Bourgeois, the head of the pro-separatist group, said the monarchy represents "an atavistic enemy of free Quebec." Mr. Bourgeois said the Reseau de Resistance plans to irritate those involved with the trip.
ABOUT THE COUPLE
Prince Charles and Camilla Shand first dated in 1972, but the relationship fizzled a year later. The two remained close friends -- so close, in fact, that upon the breakdown of her marriage to Prince Charles, Princess Diana said: "There were three in the marriage, so it was a bit crowded," referring to Camilla's constant presence. Later, Prince Charles admitted to committing adultery with Camilla. The couple's first formal public appearance was in 1999, at the Duchess' sister's birthday party. The two married in a civil ceremony on April 9, 2005.