Dear Editor:
Re: It's all royal, all the time, in Canada this week, Our View, Burnaby NOW, July 6.
Does the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge deserve all the media attention? I would say not all of the attention, but this is Canada, and our country is a constitutional monarchy.
Canada's heritage ties to the monarchy and British traditions make us profoundly different than the United States.
While the monarchy does not get involved in the day-to-day business of government (and hasn't done so since the signing of the Statute of Westminster and later the signing of our 1982 Constitution), Canadians still have many ties to the monarchy and its traditions in government, history and law, and should be something we should cherish and support.
Is all of the media attention given to Wills and Kate in Canada silly? Some, but it pales in comparison to the silliness given to them by the media in the United States. I've noticed a major difference in coverage of the royal tour, how it is covered in Canada and how it is covered in the United States.
Here, it is the couple, their interaction with Canadians and the ties to our rich British heritage.
There, it is all Entertainment Tonight, Hollywood-type celebrity angles reminiscent of the usual style of Americans going nuts over celebrities and anything they do or wear. A paradox indeed! The Americans didn't want royalty in 1775, but now want to see!
"Not since Paul Revere galloped through Massachusetts have so many gotten so worked up over the arrival of some British people," you snorted in protest. Memories are indeed short.
In March 1998, Burnaby citizens lining Rumble Street had the pleasure of seeing Prince William and Harry at Burnaby South Secondary School and cheering their arrival. Loud high-pitched screeching came from teenage girls caked in beauty cream and swimming in rivers of mascara, cooing and swooning over the two Princes as they saw William and Harry take off from Canada Place to go to Whistler.
The Queen and Prince Phillip had a distinguished visit to Victoria and Vancouver in October, 2002. The Queen and Prince Phillip were seen by many, many loyal subjects.
Crikey! Without our ties and traditions to the monarchy, we might as well be part of the United States, and join those damn Yankees in their excessive, over-the-top worship of celebrities!
God Save The Queen.
P.A. Keenleyside,
Burnaby
