Who is on the balcony?
There is reason for this seemingly random question to intrigue royal observers every time a major event focuses public attention on the royal family.
And perhaps no more than in the next few days, when Queen Elizabeth celebrated her platinum anniversary and 70 years as monarch.
Today’s appearance of members of the royal family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in London – and perhaps another such appearance later in the extended long weekend of the anniversary – offer subtle signs of the future of the monarchy, even when so much attention is focused on 96- they the Queen of the Year and her unprecedented seven decades on the throne.
“It’s a remarkable title and achievement for the Queen, but it suggests that no one is immortal,” said David Johnson, a professor of political science at Cape Breton University in Nova Scotia.
“We see that … The queen is slowing down.
Scenes on the balcony like the one during Queen Elizabeth’s diamond jubilee in 2012 can send messages about how the royal family sees the future of the monarchy evolving. In this case, the focus was on the highest royalty, on the left, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall; Prince Charles; Queen Elizabeth; Prince William; Kate, Duchess of Cambridge; and Prince Harry. (Lefteris Pitarakis / Associated Press)
Prepare for the next reign
With today’s appearance of the balcony, limited to working senior members of the royal family – without Prince Andrew, without Prince Harry and Megan, Duchess of Sussex – there is another reminder of what many see as a signal of a weakened monarchy favored by the heir to the queen, her eldest son, Prince Charles.
Johnson also sees hints of the future in the ways the anniversary is celebrated outside the festivities that spill the streets of London over the next few days.
- WATCH – CBC News Special: Queen’s Jubilee, Trooping the Color, June 2, 5 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. ET on CBC-TV, CBC News Network and CBC Gem
“Some of the events, even in Canada, encouraging people to plant trees and plant gardens on the Jubilee, to be engaged in nature, are all in the interests of the Prince of Wales,” said Johnson, author of Battle Royal: Monarchists vs. Republicans and the Crown of Canada.
“The jubilee itself will highlight both the queen and some of the deeper, broader social concerns and social interests that the queen and her eldest son have.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles posed for a portrait in the Frogmore House Garden on March 23, 2021 in Windsor, England. (Chris Jackson / Getty Images / Associated Press)
As much as the Queen and other members of the royal family are slow to take on more than she did before, there is no point in being distracted in any way from what is happening at Windsor’s house.
“She’s trying to organize what comes next,” said John Fraser, author of The Secret of the Crown: The Canadian Royalty Affair.
“She was very cunning. She made her decisions and decided to be Camilla’s husband. It prepares us all for this, “said Fraser, founding president and associate of the Crown Research Institute in Canada.
“Different era”
What “this” will be is a matter of some interest and debate, which comes at a time of wider reliance in society on our past and our institutions.
“Elizabeth is such a specific time, such a specific way of thinking, and the world has evolved and changed so much that this 70th anniversary seems to be more than a celebration of her reign, but perhaps also a continuation. [to] other things, “said Toronto playwright Marcia Johnson, whose play” Serve Elizabeth “tells the story of Mercy, a staunch anti-monarchist who was hired to care for Elizabeth when she traveled to Kenya in 1952 and learned that has become queen.
“It’s hard to imagine Charles after that – they seem to be in this modern world and [Elizabeth] it’s … a different era, “Johnson said.
“If there was ever time to say good, it was interesting and now we don’t have a monarchy, I think that would be the time to end it.”
- WATCH – CBC News Special: Queen’s Jubilee, Thanksgiving, June 3, 5:30 am – 9 am ET on CBC-TV, CBC News Network and CBC Gem.
The Jamaican-born Johnson was inspired to write her play from an episode of the Netflix drama The Crown, which also explores Elizabeth’s journey, when she learned that her father, King George VI, had died.
“The things I said in Serving Elizabeth were that this is not a fairy tale and we may be postcolonial, but there are many people and countries that are still suffering from the effects of British rule.”
Performing the play “Serving Elizabeth” at the Stratford, Ont. 2021 Festival, Arlene Duncan, left, plays Mercy, a chef hired to serve the royal visit to Kenya in 1952 by Princess Elizabeth, played by Sarah. I’m knocking, aren’t I? (David Howe / Stratford Festival)
Now that the anniversary is unfolding, Johnson is interested in seeing how it will be reported in the news and how it relates to the future of the monarchy.
“I don’t mind Elizabeth, but that’s not the only story,” Johnson said. She represents so much more, and we in the world are obviously opening our eyes to … our history and turning to things and trying to make amends, so this is the perfect opportunity to say yes, see what she has achieved, but whether it’s time to rethink these things.
“Should they be paid for what they receive?” Do they have to return some of the land they have, you know? Just think about it. I don’t think it has to come from a vile place. That’s just the facts. “
Many members of the royal family often join Queen Elizabeth on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, as they did here for Trooping the Color in June 2019, but such a scene will not take place on Thursday, as the appearance of the balcony is limited to high working members and their children. (Hannah McKay / Reuters)
Weakened future?
Fraser says people are “looking everywhere” for signs of what the future of the monarchy might look like.
“They are coming fast and furious. The fact that Prince Charles read [U.K] “A speech from the throne” I would be very surprised if this queen gave another speech from the throne, “he said.
“We will see a good example in this platinum anniversary of the things to come in the next two years. I fully expect the Queen to make her century, if not more, but she will continue to retreat and Charles will continue to move forward.
There is also a sense that Prince Charles will focus his rule on a smaller core group of members of the royal family to work in the Windsor House.
“We know that Charles wants a weakened version, so there won’t be too many roles for Princess Eugenie – this crowd [of royals further down in the line of succession] they will drift off, except on some of the big occasions, “Fraser said.
Johnson, a professor of political science, predicts that the monarchy’s traditions will continue.
Prince Charles reads the Queen’s speech at the inauguration of the British Parliament in London on 10 May 2022 (Ben Stansall / Associated Press)
“The institution of more than 1,000 years, the key roles, will continue,” he said, suggesting that the monarchy’s philanthropic role will also continue, but with a change in priority.
“You will see a lot more focus on the environment, interests that are close and dear to Charles’ heart, from 20, 30 or 40 years ago,” he said.
In Canada, he also predicted that the monarchy would survive the transition to the next government. But he sees another question: will it prosper?
“This is a challenge.”
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