Jonathon Liedtke – ourWindsor.ca – Dec. 10, 2012
The world is abuzz over the news of the Pregnancy of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and while unfortunately a nurse has taken her life over a prank by Australian radio DJs, many Windsorites are elated by the pregnancy announcement coming from the Royal Family.
Christopher Lucki, is a local member of the Monarchist League of Canada and he was very happy at the announcement of the pregnancy. “It’s nice to know that the line continues. With any couple it’s a great occasion, let alone when it’s the future Head of State of the 17 Commonwealth countries.”
“While we celebrate with William and Kate as with any couple expecting the birth of their first child, we are also reminded that we share this Royal Family with 15 other independent countries as Canada’s own Royal Family too.” commented Windsorite Cyril Bagin, who is a Senior Assistant at the Canadian House of Commons, adding, “With New Zealand taking the lead, together these Commonwealth Realms are changing the line of succession, which is part of Canadian constitutional law. This reminds us of the Statute of Westminster which in 1931 made Canada a fully independent monarchy/country and requires all Realms to agree on such changes. The importance of this Statute is remembered each year on December 11th as an official Canadian observance, which sadly receives little attention in schools or media.”
In regards to the proposed changing of the rules of succession to ensure that if the baby is a girl she will rise to become the next Head of State, Lucki believes that had Prince Charles and Princess Diana had a girl as their first born that the rules of succession would have been changed back in the 80s.
“Obviously like any institution, the monarchy has to adopt with the times and modernize, however, they haven’t had to worry about changing the laws of succession because Prince Charles was a boy and so was Prince William. If the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have a girl, I’m sure it’s imperative that the laws of succession are indeed changed to accommodate that.”
Some European Monarchies have already gone ahead with making changes to ensure that the Royal bloodline is passed on to a female heir, such as the Royal House of Sweden for example.
Derek Hart became a Canadian Citizen last year, after having lived in Canada for many years as a British citizen. Hart hopes that the heir is a boy and conceded that he thought the rules of succession had already been changed.
Hart doesn’t think that Canadians need to further promote the Monarchy because “we as Canadians have to find our [own] identity…something we seem to have a problem with.”
Lucki reflected on his first experience with the Monarchy in 1984 when he was in kindergarten and his mother took him out of school to wave to the Queen when she came to Windsor Ontario to “open up the Queen Elizabeth II Gardens outside Jackson Park and to unveil monuments at Dieppe Park down by the river. Obviously, being a five year old, I knew something special was happening, because my mother had taken me out of class, so I think that was the birth of my port and interest in the Canadian Crown.”
“A lot of modern thought says that a republic is the most modern and efficient way of governing,” commented Lucki, adding, “but countries that are monarchies, we retain the culture and heritage of the past with fully functioning modern forms of democratic governments. You can’t just throw something away because its outdated…you have to modernize it and adapt.”
Windsorites Weigh in on Changes to Royal Rules of Succession and Birth Announcement (ourwindsor.ca)
Jonathon Liedtke is the Features & Opinion Editor for the University of Windsor Lance Campus/Community Newspaper and a reporter for ourWindsor.ca. As a founding member and current Co-Chair of the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Committee, he is committed to representing, connecting, engaging with and advocating for local youth. He is also a member of Windsor’s “Punk with Horns” band The Nefidovs, and as such, is committed to enhancing and sustaining the arts community.
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