CUP Ottawa Bureau Chief

OTTAWA (CUP) – Canadians were given some royal treatment as Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, wrapped up an 11-day, four-province tour of Canada this week.

The royal couple visited 12 cities and communities across Newfoundland, British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec, and even included several university stops on their tour: the prince visited Memorial University in St. John’s, Nfld., where he toured their Marine Institute, and Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., where he participated in a seminar on sustainable urban business.

“We hope our visit will be a real celebration of the vibrant diversity which defines modern Canada, from her ancient traditions to the world-class brilliance of her contemporary culture,” read a statement from the prince on the government’s official royal visit website.

Days before the royal couple touched down in Canada, CBC published results from a Navigator survey conducted in August that suggested a majority of Canadians were disillusioned with the Prince of Wales. According to the Toronto-based communication firm’s findings, 60 per cent believed that the monarchy is outdated.

Eugene Berezovsky, media spokesperson for the Monarchist League of Canada, suggested that the apparent Canadian apathy is largely derived from the fact that members of the royal family – Prince Charles in particular – have not taken the opportunity to visit the country in several years.

“Prince Charles had been long out of the country, and exposure and popularity tend to go hand-in-hand,” he noted. “People have forgotten about him, and the thing is his life [has] changed so dramatically, his sons having grown up, his personal life much more subtle . . . and so he’s different from the image Canadians remember him [by].

“There was a great deal of re-acquaintance that had to go on, and in that context, I think the poll is understandable,” he continued.

This was Prince Charles’ first visit to Canada since 2001, and Camilla’s first ever visit to the country.

The royal couple encountered some resistance during the Quebec portion of the trip. In Montreal, a crowd of over 100 Quebec nationalists carried signs, chanted slogans, and at one point even threw eggs, opposing the visit. Three demonstrators were arrested and later released, having only been charged with blocking traffic.

“I fear there was a little local disturbance,” the prince remarked in his speech to the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada, at their headquarters in Montreal.

Despite the conflicted reception in Montreal, Berezovksy felt the rest of the trip went “overwhelmingly well.”

The couple’s travels wrapped up in Ottawa, where they took part in the capital’s Remembrance Day ceremonies at the National War Memorial on Nov. 11. Thousands gathered to watch motorcades deliver Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his wife and children, Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean and her husband and daughter, and finally the royal couple to the monument, shortly before 11 a.m. Crowds lined the streets past several blocks in the downtown core, and offered generous applause upon the dignitaries’ arrival.

“[The trip] was more about reintroduction and getting reacquainted,” Berezovsky emphasized. “You can’t fix eight years of absence with an 11-day tour, so he’s going to have to come back periodically and reinforce that image, [and] meet more Canadians when he travels to more cities; but I think he certainly made a good attempt towards reaching that goal.”

The tour was Prince Charles’ 15th visit to the country, and the Duchess of Cornwall’s first. Another royal visit is planned for 2010, when the Queen and Prince Philip, her husband, will visit Canada in the spring.

Published in Volume 64, Number 12 of The Uniter (November 19, 2009)