MONTREAL – Some Canadians, and even some British, won’t be surprised that a French Canadian from Quebec would write something bad about the royal family.
My feelings regarding the British Royal Family in the past was a mix. I grew up in the 80s and 90s. Diana, the Princess of Wales was, for me, the image of the monarchy. In my mind, a gentle princess (Diana) being an advocate for AIDS and poverty, and a prince (Charles) creating a charity focusing on youth and acting as of the first advocates for environmental issues was what a royal family was supposed to be doing. They were giving back by walking the walk.
Look, I was 7 years old when Diana and Charles separated (my mom was in total shock). There was no Twitter, no Instagram, no Facebook, or MSN to chat. The newspapers, the television broadcaster, and radio shows were our main sources of information.
Even if the Province of Quebec was not royalist, the news of the separation of the Prince and Princess of Wales was covered with respect. In the U.K., that was a different story.
The War of the Wales 1.0
The Wales was an obsession for the British Media and for the British population. It was a real-life soap opera, but in this soap opera, the game wasn’t fair. The press followed Diana. Her phone was tabbed, the courtiers, aka the men in grey, were tipping off the press and they were divulging personal information.
OK, the Prince of Wales was a victim of his personal conversations on the phone being recorded, but let’s say, the courtiers were on their best behaviour with the press regarding the Firm but still wanted to crucify Diana.
Since there was no social media and it was an entirely different time, but the injustice and lack of transparency from the Royal Family to passionate and empathic members of their family that the people fall in love and those members became way more popular than the actual monarch is still in full blown today.
Diana is a people’s- person, thea people’srson’s princess. Harry and Meghan are a people’s person the same, theand a people’s prince and princess. They don’t just show up to a charity event, they are actually doing the work. Nnot for a photo-op, but because they truly wanted to do it.
They won’t be the next king and queen of the U.K. They want to be remembered as truly kind, ethical, and hard-working human beings helping this world to be a better place. Diana was the same.
If my tax money (in Canada, we don’t contribute that much except when the Royal Family comes for a visit) is helping charities, hospitals, hospice care, women’s centres, elders’ organizations, and youth community centres and the Royal Family wants to give the salary we give them to those organizations, I’m cool with it.
The problem is: there a big bunch of them that are doing basically nothing. Just a few Zoom calls thanking the nurses and such between ski vacations somewhere in Switzerland.
Another problem is that they treated Harry, and especially Meghan, badly while Prince Andrew is protected by the firm and by the British Media regarding his affiliation with Jeffrey Epstein and the fact that he may have had sexual relationships with underage girls. Prince Andrew did nothing in the army, kept his medals, and didn’t gave up his HRH status while probably having sex with young girls.
Go figure.
The Firm let their grandson, great-grandson and nephew be compared to a monkey by the media. There was this rumor about an affair, the use of hair extensions (please, we all use hair extensions) that was quickly dismissed by the Palace to protect the future-future King of England and the future-future Queen consort of England.
Now, as an almost 38 year-old, not as naïve as I was when I was 7 or 8, I realize that this family needs to stop acting like total fools. I’m being nice here because the word I wanted to use started with an A and finish with an S.
Enough Is Enough
The world witnessed how closed minded, manipulative, and jealous the Royal Family is. They must protect the crown at all cost. Even, perpetuating false rumors to protect the heir or the future heir seemed to be a requirement for this family to survive. It seems they haven’t learned from their mistakes when Diana was alive and the way they treated her when she was married to Prince Charles and after their divorce. In the end, we saw what happened and unfortunately, two young boys lost their mother in a very tragic way.
All of this could have been prevented.
Harry is his mother’s son and Meghan is the mother of his son. What we saw this week from the British Media and from the Royal Family is a total disgrace.
Queen Elizabeth is the sovereign of Canada and to other countries of the Commonwealth, but the Royal Family embarrassed us big time this week. The Canadian Constitution means we are stuck with them. I truly wonder why we are stuck with a bunch of embarrassing people who are treating their own family members like they did (the Sussexes), while a prince sleeping with underage girls, a duke and duchess being lazy as hell. By the way, we never saw their financial report of the Royal Foundation (where the Benjamins, aka the money goes)?
When is being a professional, strong, kind-hearted woman with determination and work ethic sending late night emails is a synonymous with being a bully? I’m talking about the story about Meghan being a bully to one of the aides at Kensington Palace.
I didn’t have that memo when I replied to my emails while on vacation last week. Oh lord, I must be a bully too.
Yes, I say it.
A change will Come
The difference right now is that we are an army behind Harry, Meghan, their friends, and their charities.
I was so happy to read some nice, supportive tweets from Meghan’s friends last Thursday, but now that the Sussexes are breaking free from that very toxic environment, they may feel less alone in this difficult period. It’s true when they say that friends can become your family.
Not only are they are the support of their friends, they are having the support of almost everyone from around the world.
We won’t let history repeat itself again.
Do we, us, Canadians, really need the British Monarchy that are not supporting their own flesh and blood?
Do we?