Enduring popularity in evidence across country as Queen thrills crowds
WINNIPEG—On this Royal Tour, all roads lead to Toronto.
After spending time in Halifax, Winnipeg and Ottawa, Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh flew to this city last night for three days of activities.
By the time they depart for London on Tuesday afternoon, the Royal Couple will have prayed, played and paid visits to local businesses, landmarks and attractions, including the Queen’s Plate, Queen’s Park and a film studio.
The Queen’s Toronto sojourn begins in earnest on Sunday morning, when she will attend a service at St. James Cathedral. Like most churches, St. James has had difficulty keeping its numbers up. On this occasion, however, demand is so great it has had to issue tickets for the event. For many, it seems, God is an Englishwoman.
Throughout this tour, which began on Monday in Halifax, the Queen’s enduring popularity among Canadians has been much in evidence.
Despite polls that suggest most of us are indifferent to the monarchy, her personal appeal remains high.
In Ottawa, officials were saying 100,000 showed up to celebrate Canada Day, and gawk at the Queen. That’s well more than usual for Canada Day. The difference, they insist, was the Royal Presence.
Interesting, too, that the language heard most often in the crowd was French, spoken with a distinct Quebecois accent. Though no one should read too much into such anecdotal evidence, clearly the Queen has more francophone admirers than conventional Quebec wisdom would have us believe.
But then, a living symbol such as the Queen can serve any number of purposes, both for and against. Which only highlights the quiet brilliance she brings to this most excruciating role.
The Queen and Prince Philip spent Saturday in Manitoba, laying a cornerstone at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, under construction in Winnipeg. The piece was carved from a block from a ruined English monastery at Runnymede, where the Magna Carta was signed, albeit reluctantly, by King John in 1215.
For Toronto, fresh from the disaster that the G20 visited upon the city, the Royal Visit could serve as part of the healing process. Not that she will help merchants pay for the damage and looting done by protesters, or lessen outrage at police brutality, but she might provide a measure of calm and remind us of the value of being above the fray.
It’s also worth pointing out that although the Queen is protected wherever she goes, she eschews the security paranoia that overshadowed the G20. Indeed, she does her famous walkabouts, never hiding behind 3-metre fences and specially enacted laws. Her courage, not to mention her common sense, put so-called world leaders to shame.
Maybe that’s why anxious politicians, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper, follow her wherever she goes. (He was a last-minute addition to the program in Winnipeg and has been with her at every stop.) She must be as tired of him as we are; the difference is she doesn’t let it show. She doesn’t have to. Therein lies the source of the Royal Mystique — never reveal your feelings, always leave them guessing.
As the Queen understands so well, we’ll fill in the blanks.
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