St.
Kitts - Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Tuvalu and the United
Kingdom
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MONARCHY IN CANADA
Canadians have lived with royalty ever since
Henry IV, King of France, commissioned Pierre Du Gus de Monts as his
viceroy and lieutenant-general in Acadie (or Acadia), the name given in
the 16th century to lands now forming New Brunswick, Nova Scotia,
Prince Edward Island and parts of Quebec and Maine. This was in 1604.
The treaty of 1763 saw a changeover from a French monarch to a British
monarch.
The question is sometimes raised today why
French Canada should feel any loyalty to a British sovereign. One must
remember that our monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, is a direct descendant
of Louis IX of France. He in turn was also the ancestor of Henry IV,
the sovereign who first claimed Acadie. It must be remembered also,
that the majority of French Canadians in Lower Canada (Quebec) voted
for the confederation of 1867. Quebec has been the keystone for most of
the majority governments in Ottawa and has given several prime
ministers to head federal regimes.
Queen Elizabeth II is Queen of Canada,
monarch of all Canadians, and she is Queen by the will of the people.
DEFENDER OF THE FAITH
Although the Queen's Canadian
title includes "Defender of the Faith," neither the Queen, the governor
general, nor any lieutenant-governor has any religious role in Canada.
There have been no established churches in Canada since before
confederation in 1867. This is one of the key differences from the
Queen's role in the United Kingdom where she is Supreme Governor of the
Church of England.
THE CROWN AND OUR FIRST NATIONS
Canada's First
Nations view their treaties as being agreements directly between them
and the Crown, not with the ever-changing government. The Royal
Proclamation of 1763
by King George III made clear that the First Nations were autonomous
political units and
affirmed their title to lands. It remains an important document,
mentioned in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,
outlining the Canadian Crown's responsibility to protect First Nations'
territories and maintain the bilateral "nation-to-nation"
relationship.
THE CROWN AND OUR CANADIAN FORCES
The Crown retains a prominent
place within the Canadian Forces. The Constitution Act, 1867 states
that the Command-in-Chief of the Canadian Armed Forces is vested in the
Queen. However, the 1905 Militia Act
changed references to the Office of the Governor General to become the
Office of the Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of the Militia;
the title and its duties being held and performed by the Governor
General on behalf of the Sovereign. The Letters Patent of 1947 further reinforce this position.
The Sovereign's position and role in the military is reflected by Canadian naval vessels
bearing the prefix Her Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) (subsequently His
Majesty's Canadian Ship during the reign of a king), and all members of
the armed forces must swear allegiance to the Queen and her heirs and
successors.
HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II
The Queen was born in London on 21 April 1926, the
first child of The Duke and Duchess of York, subsequently King George VI and
Queen Elizabeth. Five weeks later she was christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary in
the chapel at Buckingham Palace.
She married His Royal Highness The Prince
Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on 20 November 1947 in Westminster Abbey. Upon the
death of her father, King George VI,
on 6 February 1952, she ascended to the throne and was crowned Queen
Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953 in Westminster Abbey.
HM Queen
Elizabeth II and HRH Prince Philip have four children; Prince Charles,
The Prince of Wales; Princess Anne, The Princess Royal; Prince Andrew,
The Duke of York; Prince Edward, The Earl of Wessex. They have
seven grand-children.
|
The Duke & Duchess of York with Princess Elizabeth
1926 |
Princesses Elizabeth & Margaret wave from the balcony of Buckingham Palace following their father's coronation
1937 |
|
Wedding of Princess Elizabeth & Prince Philip
November 20, 1947 |
The Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
June 2, 1953 |
The Prince of Wales
Heir Apparent
His Royal Highness Prince Charles Philip Arthur George, Prince of
Wales, KG, KT, GCB, OM, AK, QSO, PC, ADC, Earl of Chester, Duke of
Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord
of the Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland.
HRH The Prince of Wales and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall
The Prince of Wales, eldest son of The Queen and Prince Philip, Duke
of Edinburgh, was born at Buckingham Palace at 9:14pm on 14th November,
1948.
On The Queen's accession to the throne,
Prince Charles - as the Sovereign's eldest son - became at the age of
three heir apparent.
In 1958, The Queen created him The Prince of Wales, and he was invested as Prince of Wales by The Queen on 1st July 1969
in a colourful ceremony at Caernarfon Castle.
On 29th July, 1981, The Prince of Wales married Lady
Diana Spencer in St Paul's Cathedral. The Princess was born on
1st July 1961, at Park House on The Queen's estate at Sandringham,
Norfolk, and lived there until the death of her grandfather, the 7th
Earl, in 1975, when the family moved to the Spencer family seat at
Althorp House in Northamptonshire.
The Prince and Princess of Wales had two sons, Prince William who was born on 21st June, 1982, and Prince Harry was born on 15th September, 1984.
On 9th December, 1992,
the Prime Minister, John Major, announced to the House of Commons that
The Prince and Princess of Wales had agreed to separate. The marriage
was dissolved on 28th August, 1996. The Princess was still regarded as
a member of the Royal Family. She continued to live at Kensington
Palace and to carry out her public work for a number of charities.
The Princess was killed
in a car crash in Paris on 31st August, 1997. The Princess lay in the
Chapel Royal at St James's Palace until the night before the funeral.
On 9th April 2005, The Prince of Wales and Mrs
Parker Bowles were married in a civil ceremony at the
Guildhall,Windsor. She was born Camilla Rosemary Shand on 17th July
1947 at Kingâs College Hospital, London, the eldest of three children.
After the wedding, Mrs Parker Bowles became known as HRH The Duchess of Cornwall.
When The Prince of Wales accedes to the Throne, it is intended that The Duchess will be known as HRH The Princess Consort.
Official site of The Prince of Wales
Succession to the throne is by
male-preference primogeniture and governed by the provisions of the Act
of Settlement and the English Bill of Rights.
These documents are now a part of Canadian constitutional law. Canada's
rules of succession are identical to those of the United
Kingdom by the Statute of Westminster.
The term heir apparent
refers to someone who is first in the order of succession to a throne
and who cannot lose this status by the birth of any other person.
An Heir Apparent differs from an Heir Presumptive
in that, although an Heir Presumptive may inherit the throne upon the
death of the monarch, the status of the Heir Presumptive as
first-in-line could be overturned by the birth of another person of
superior legal status who would at the moment they were born become the
Heir Apparent or the new Heir Presumptive. In effect an Heir
Presumptive is the de facto or stand-by first-in-line
until someone with a superior legal status in the order of succession,
the Heir Apparent or a new Heir Presumptive, is born.
HM The Queen of Canada
HRH The Prince of Wales
