Canada should boot out the Queen as Head of State

The Harry and Meghan interview with Oprah finally convinced me that the British monarch should not be Canada’s head of state.

The bombshell disclosures by the couple were: that an unnamed member of the Royal Family voiced concern to Prince Harry about the color of their unborn baby’s skin; that the baby would not be given titles normally due because of his “station” in life; and that Meghan was pushed to the point of suicidal thoughts after being repeatedly assaulted by Britain’s cruel media. They also disclosed that they had sought medical help for her depression, and public relations protection, from palace officials, both of which were denied.

In other words, they were thrown to the wolves, as was Harry’s mother, Lady Di.

I, for one, do not doubt them. Exhibit A, to me, was the immediate and disgusting reaction by the British press after the interview. The nasty and shaming headlines, and the on-air trashing of Meghan by broadcaster Piers Morgan (he later resigned from ITV), merely confirmed their allegations. It was clear that from the beginning of their match-up, Fleet Street placed bull’s-eyes on their backs because she was American, of mixed race, and prettier and more popular than any of the Royals.

Even worse, the situation has revealed the Royal Family’s double-standard. The Queen said in a statement that she was “saddened,” but did not apologize and questioned the veracity of the couple’s version of events. Compare this with the treatment afforded Prince Andrew.

After Harry and Meghan decided to step back a little over a year ago, the palace stripped Harry of most of his titles and the family’s security was withdrawn after they moved to Canada. To boot, on the eve of the interview with Oprah, the palace opened an “investigation” into alleged bullying of staff by Meghan, which supposedly occurred in 2018, then leaked this to the press, obviously to raise doubts about her in advance of the tell-all broadcast.

Compare this with the treatment of Prince Andrew, who consorted with the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and is wanted for questioning by the FBI after criminal allegations he slept with an under-age Epstein sex slave. When these were made public in 2015, Andrew said he was innocent and a palace press release concurred. Years later, in 2019, he was stripped of most of his duties and some salary, but his titles and those held by his two daughters remain intact.

This behavior by our head of state and her organization tarnishes Canada’s brand and that of the 15 other nations that retain the Queen as their head of state. Already, there is talk this week in Australia of holding another referendum to rid them of the Queen. (The first one held in 1999 barely lost.)

Barbados announced in September its intention to remove the Queen as its head of state this year, and soon more Caribbean nations will likely follow suit, not just because of this dysfunctional Royal Family, but also to distance themselves from the scourge of British slavery and colonialism. Barbados was following in the steps of Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, and Mauritius.

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Extricating Canada from the British monarchy would be an arduous and hazardous process involving amending the Constitution and trying to get all provinces and territories on board. The prime minister, when asked this week, batted away the suggestion due to COVID-19 and other priorities.

But another constitutional snafu may be what Canada needs, given gerrymandering in favor of Quebec and Atlantic Canada, and the fact that the country is badly fractured and Australian-style regional balance is non-existent. At the very least, the country’s senate (a colonial version of the House of Lords occupied mostly by privileged ex-politicians) should be scrapped, illegally if necessary, and the governor-general should be replaced by a committee of judges.

As for now, I believe that Canada and the Commonwealth deserve an apology from the Queen.

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