If Bob Hepburn of the Toronto Star had not advised us, would we have known a crowning was coming? The coronation could have come and gone and many of us would have cared less. It always puzzled me in high school just why we were being steeped in the lore of the British monarchy. It seemed all the early British kings were nasty blokes, but we assumed that you had to be to survive in those early days.
But times have changed. Why haven’t the Brits done something about their outmoded and debilitated monarchy? Sure, Elizabeth the Second was a much nicer person than her vague ancestor Elizabeth 1. The queen would have been an equally nice person as plain Mrs. Mountbatten—even if she had divorced that philandering husband, Phillip Mountbatten.
It is good to see that there is a bit of a movement going on in the Old Blighty with yellow signs saying ‘Not My King.’ It is hard to understand why the Brits, Scots and Northern Irish put up with those regressive conservatives who seem to hold the British Isles in servitude. It seems to be a form of self-abuse to keep themselves subjugated to such an outmoded and backward-facing government.
And they always go back. Who was surprised when Brexit doomed the country to many years of suffering under the disapproval of a progressive continent. And we want to share a king with them?
Maybe those people with their signs saying ‘Not My King’ are just rooting for the next king, who would be Billy 2. I would think it would be funnier if they locked Bill and Kate in the tower along with the crown jewels. Then Harry and Megan can be made regents for the young King George.
We could pretend that they are all just chess pieces, that we move around the board of our fantasy lives. When it comes to Canada though, we really need forward-thinking, progressive politicians. We need to tear into our constitution and bring it up to date into the 21 Century. We want politicians who can earn their salaries and quit wasting their time telling us how bad the other guys are.
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Copyright 2023 © Peter Lowry
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