Do we really want Prince Charles to be Canada’s king?

I was six years old when I first saw King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, his wife and their two daughters, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. It happened in May and June of 1939 while the royal family was visiting Canada just before World War II began. I saw them twice. The first time was when my mother took my brother and I to Parkside Drive in Toronto where her aunt lived. The royal family was going to be driven up that street. When their car passed by us, I saw all four of them, the king and queen and their two daughters. Queen Elizabeth, the current queen was seven years older that I was and her sister, Margaret was three years older that I was.

The second time I saw the king and queen, was while my brother and I were living on a farm during June of that year. The farm was situated between Toronto and Bolton, Ontario. The farmer and his wife were looking after my brother and I while our mother was visiting relatives out of the province of Ontario. He had heard that their train would be moving north approximately half an hour east of the farm while on their way across Canada. He decided that we should all go to a road where the railway tracks intersected with it and watch the royal family as they passed us. We arrived about ten minutes before the train reached us and because the intersection was crowded, he moved us further up the tracks. When the train arrived, the engineer slowed down (probably on orders of the king if crowds had gathered) and by the time the last car had reached us, the train was beginning to pick up speed. I was sitting on the shoulder of the farmer and the car that the king and queen were in, had a rear platform at the end of the car. The royal couple were sitting in two chairs, waving at everybody. I hollered out, “Hello!” They turned and faced me. Then I hollered out, “Goodbye!” They began to laugh and waved at me. I waved back. That was the only time I got to address the king and queen. Alas. It was only a one-way conversation.

No one has to express their admiration for the king and queen in that era as they were greatly respected by all, especially when they chose to remain in London during the blitz while German bombers were dropping bombs onto the city. One even hit Buckingham Palace where they lived. When the king died, the royal family just began going down hill.

Princess Margaret, the present queen’s sister, definitely was not a person one could really respect. She was the bad-girl of the British monarchy. Often she defied the traditionally strict code of conduct imposed by the monarchy. choosing instead to live her life the way she pleased.

On one occasion, she went through her mother's papers in 1993, several months after the Prince (Charles) and Princess of Wales (Diana) had announced their separation. Margaret had burned bundles of her mother's letters though at the time it was not known which ones. Previously in a letter to her mother, who was staying at Birkhall on the Balmoral estate, the Princess wrote: "I am going back today to clear up some more of your room. I am keeping the letters for you to sort later." On the Princess's orders, large black bags of papers were taken away for destruction rather than for ultimate consignment to the Royal Archives. Also, Princess Margaret and her husband were divorced. I don’t know why they were divorced but a divorce in the monarchy doesn’t sit well with with the general public. Despite her failings, she was nevertheless, an active supporter of numerous worthwhile organizations.

The present Queen Elizabeth became the queen of England and the British Commonwealth which includes Canada, on February 6, 1953 when she was only 26 years of age. When she was in her teens, she was highly respected because of her contribution towards the war effort during the Second World War. However, after she became a queen, there was one big flaw in her reign. She didn’t bring up her children properly.

Whenever I think of Queen Elizabeth, II, my mind goes back to a time when she and Prince Philip had visited Australia in 1954. They didn’t take their two children, Charles and Anne with them and finally when the Queen and her consort returned to England on their yacht, HMS Britannia, Charles who was only six years old that year, ran up the gang plank to greet his mother. He began to hug her and she responded by telling him “Later!” as she shooed him away so that she would meet dignitaries who had come aboard the yacht. That must have been very depressing for him as a child since it must have appeared to him at that time that she was indifferent to his presence.

That is hardly the way a mother should treat her child especially when they have been separated from one another for some considerable time.

I can well appreciate however how difficult it is for a king or queen to give lots of attention to their children since they are so busy dealing with state affairs.

Many scientists now believe that 20 per cent of a person's outcome in life is the result of innate brain capacity. The other 80 per cent is based on what happens after birth. That means nurturing – particularly parenting and schooling – can affect whether a child becomes a successful adult or a slacker.

The difference between a baby and an adult is the amount and location of connective tissue – synapses – among the neurons. The business of growing the brain from newborn to child to adult is to build synaptic connections and then networks of these connections within the brain. Those synapses carry understanding and memory, or what we know as learning. The synaptic connections are made by learning many things. In other words, if a small child isn’t given love and attention regularily, the chances are that he or she won’t give the love and attention that his or her children need. When that happens, their children grow up with behavior and learning problems.

Two examples of this is with respect to King George IV and King Edward (who later abdicated) Although George didn’t have any behavior problems, he stuttered all of his life. This has been attributed to his relationship with his father, King George V. His father showed very little attention or love to him. The same applies to George VI’s older brother, Edward.He too was for the most part, ignored by his father. Not only did he act in a manner that was against the custom of England when he was king by marrying a divorcee, he praised Hitler, the German dictator who later attacked the British Isles by bombing the south of England.

Prince Andrew, (who is Prince Charles’ younger brother) and Sarah (Andrew’s wife) were welcomed by adoring throngs on their cross-country jaunts. They dazzled effortlessly as the super-celebrity couple of that era. And for all that their marriage has since been portrayed as a totally loveless sham, on their first visit at least, in 1983, the prince could hardly keep his hands off his princess, touching her constantly and even patting her bottom. On their last visit, a year before the 1992 separation, the couple were barely speaking to each other. They finally divorced.

This doesn’t necessary mean that all persons in the British Royalty won’t succeed. Prince Andrew became a one-man chamber of commerce. He is Great Britain's special representative for international trade.

When I was a young child, I got the feeling that I wasn’t loved all the time, especially since I spent years in seven foster homes. I didn’t have any real behavior problems but I was definitely a failure in school. I was sent back to kindergarten from grade one and spent three years in grade five. I finally left school in grade nine at the age of 17. However, when I was 37, I was much smarter then and I entered University with a grade nine education and eventually got my doctorate in criminology and as of 1975, I have addressed the United Nations in UN crime conferences 23 times in places like Europe, Africa, South America and South Asia. I have always wondered how well I would have done in school if I had lived with my mother during all of my childhood years.

When Jacques Chirac was the president of France and even while he was spending years in pursuit of power, he had little time for his children. His son, Laurence subsequently was battling severe anorexia and mental illness for 30 years.

Sir Winston Churchill had a difficulty childhood. His parents were too busy to pay that much attention to him and yet despite that, he grew up to be an incredible leader of his nation.

Prince Philip is married to Queen Elizabeth II of England, making him the Duke of Edinburgh. I don't know anything about his childhood years but what ever they were like, he grew up to be a real twit. He is quite infamous around the world for making some rather embarrassing and ridiculous statements.

When he was in China on an official visit, he was overheard to say; “If you stay here much longer, you’ll all be slitty-eyed.” To a blind women with a guide, he said; “Do you know they have eating dogs for the anorexic now?” To an Aborigine in Australia, he said; “Do you still throw spears at each other?” To a Briton in Budapest, he said; “You can’t have been here that long. You haven’t got a pot belly.” To a driving instructor in Scotland, he said; “How do you keep the natives off the booze long enough to get them through the test?” To a student who had been trekking in Papua, New Guinea, he said; “You managed not to get eaten, then?” To Elton John after hearing Elton had sold his Gold Aston Martin, he said; “Oh, it’s you that owns that ghastly car. We often see it when driving to Windsor Castle.” With respect to the London Traffic Debate, he said; (brace for it) “The problem with London is the tourists. They cause the congestion. If we could just stop tourism, we could stop the congestion.” To the President of Nigeria, dressed in traditional robes, he said; “You look like you’re ready for bed!” While discussing key problems facing Brazil, he said; “Brazilians live there” The royal family would be better off if this buffoon would simply stay inside his home and never venture out again and make silly and embarrassing statements.

Princess Anne unfortunately is a very rude and foul-mouthed person. This kind of behavior is most unbecoming for someone who is part of the royal family. One day on June 11, 2007, she slipped and fell on an uneven path during an official visit to Guernsey. More than 300 schoolchildren had lined the high street in St Peter Port, the island's capital, and were giving her a round of applause when her legs gave way beneath her. Bailiff Geoffrey Rowland – the head of Guernsey’s legal and political system – tried immediately to help the Princess to her feet. But the Princess reacted most unseemly when she said to him: “Don’t do that, thank you. Grabbing me round my fucking stomach won’t help.”

It is 27 years since she infamously barked at photographers to "naff off" (a euphemism for 'fuck off!) when she was pictured falling from her horse at a water jump during the 1982 Badminton Horse Trials. On one royal tour to Africa, a photographer who asked her to lift up a starving baby to highlight the crisis facing her host country was given short shrift. She said to the photographer, “I don’t do stunts.”

Princess Anne, among the most hard-working of the royals, was famed in her youth for her grumpy outbursts, although she has appeared to mellow with age - or at least to keep her temper under a tighter rein.

Prince William appears to be a real gentleman and is admired by everyone. His younger brother on the other hand, when he was younger, was a real jerk. Harry had earned a reputation in his youth for being rebellious, leading the tabloid press to label him as a "wild child". He was found at age 17 smoking cannabis and partaking in under-age drinking with his friends, would clash physically with paparazzi outside nightclubs, and was photographed at Highgrove House at a Colonial and Native themed costume party wearing a German Afrika Korps uniform, usually referred to as a Nazi uniform. In 2006, he referred to a Pakistani fellow officer cadet as "our little Paki friend," and later called a soldier wearing a cloth on his head a "raghead". Lately, he has improved and is no longer an embarrassment to the monarchy.

Finally, I will deal with Prince Charles, the man who just might eventually be the king. Keep in mind that that may not be for a long time. The queen has said that she has no intentions of abdicating and she may live as long as her mother who died at 101 years of age.

The return to Canada of Prince Charles in November 2009 provides an opportunity for Canadians to look again at the institutional eccentricity of the Canadian monarchy. The royal family has received complete inadequate attention, here and in Australia and New Zealand, for its novelty. These are all among the most successful and promising countries in the world, and no other serious countries in history have had a non-residential monarchy.

Fortunately, Canada has graduated from the adolescent self-consciousness of an insecure country preoccupied with the symbolism of national sovereignty and now and for some time, it has concerned itself that a British royal family which comes among Canadians fairly disparagingly and randomly, happens to include the Queen as our chief of state. Canadians have not quite reached the point of appreciating the endearing originality of this system. In fact, that appreciation is slowly waning.
Of course it's an anachronism, but most Canadians would now say that there is nothing wrong with that but at the same time, they would also decline to subscribe themselves as committed monarchists.

It has been suggested that the monarch’s role should be updated, perhaps by making the monarch co-chief of state in the overseas Commonwealth countries such as Canada, with a domestic governor-general which is appointed by the Prime Minister as it is at present or the president if Canada becomes a republic, endowed with enhanced status and a more legitimizing form of selection than nomination by the prime minister.

With Prince Charles on the throne, that may result in Canada definitely becoming a republic instead of being a monarchy. A new documentary is airing on the final day of his trip to Canada and its main premise is hardly flattering: it predicts Charles' coronation could spell the demise of the monarchy in Canada.While the Queen is widely liked, people just don't feel the same way about her offspring, least of all, Prince Charles.

Many still harbour ill will toward Prince Charles for his failed marriage to Diana and they don't like his outspokenness and quirky ideas. The documentary notes a Canadian poll where two-thirds of respondents expressed support for ditching the monarchy once the Queen dies. Only 23% of Canadians want Charles to be king. If Canada ever holds a referendum, the monarchy’s role in Canada would be a historical footnote in the past.

I personally have nothing but contempt for Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall who will never be queen but instead, the king’s consort when and if her husband becomes the king.

While Charles was married to Diana, a sweet woman whose’ interest in the welfare of Britian’s citizens and a loving mother to their two children, William and Harry was paramount on her mind, he was sexually cavorting with his old girlfriend, Camilla Parker Bowles. There is no doubt that they were having sex together. This is not a story of enduring romance, star-crossed lovers who got a second shot at happiness in middle age. This historical event is a sordid tale of betrayal and infidelity, with not an iota of survival guilt in their happily-ever-after marriage, while Diana moulders in her grave, a receding footnote in the Windsor annals.

King Edward II, the older brother of King George VI conducted a lengthy affair with Alice Keppel, the wife of William and Sophia's son, George who was married to Queen Alexandra. This is a bit of history that enthralls Camilla from the time she was a young girl. Her favourite family anecdote, according to biographer Caroline Graham, was the story of Alice famously saying: "My job is to curtsy first and then jump into bed.'' That was what happen when Charles and Camilla were initially going with one another before Charles married Diana.

Indeed, as everyone now knows, upon first meeting Charles on a rain-swept day at the polo field in Windsor Great Park, a brassy Camilla uttered the immortal line: "My great-grandmother was your great-great-grandfather's mistress.” How about that for an opening line” It surpasses saying, “Would you like to come up to my flat and look at my etchings?” Now their subsequent sexual cavorting is real Déjà.

Talk about stupidity. One day, Charles was talking to Camilla on his cell phone and somehow their conversation got picked up by a listener over the airwaves. Charles said to her, “I wish I was a Tampon so that I could be right inside you.” His sexual longing always ran towards the dowdy Camilla, as revealed so excruciatingly in the notorious "Tampon phone call event in their lives. And this is the man-who-will-be-our king, Canada. Or maybe not.

He can smile and shake hands with people in Canada but when it comes right down to it, I don’t think many Canadians really want him to be their king, even if it’s only in name.

Monarchist loyalty in this multicultural country appears on shaky ground, with forty-nine per cent of Canadians support reopening the constitutional debate on possibly replacing the sovereign with an elected head of state. Seven in ten said they'd rather a Canadian serve in that role – further fueling the recent kerfuffle over Governor General Michaëlle Jean's ‘gaffe’ during a speech she gave in Paris when she was referring to herself as the head of state. (which she later said that she was wrong in saying it)

Succession could become an issue for Canada, since close to two in five believe there should be no monarch after the current one dies and only 23 per cent want Charles to become our king. A higher proportion, 30 per cent, would prefer Prince William directly ascend to the throne, skipping a generation. That unfortunately probably won’t happen.

Charles and Camilla are viewed dimly by Canadians, with disapproval rates at 49 and 51 per cent respectively. Still, only 27 per cent want the Royal Family to cease their excursions to Canada and nearly 40 per cent claimed they would attend an event here featuring a member of the Windsor clan.

Charles meanwhile is intent on showing off the missus to his subjects-from-afar. He said when he arrived in Canada, "I can hardly believe that this is my 15th visit, and I am greatly looking forward to introducing my wife to a country and a people which are very dear to my heart."

That may be how he feels but speaking for myself and probably most of Canada, I am not looking forward to seeing his wife even though I was at the airport where she was arriving for the purpose of visiting Toronto while I was seeing my Japanese-born wife off for her month vacation in her homeland. I was only ten feet from the former prime minster of Thailand at a reception in 2005 in which my wife and I were invited to meet him. It was then that I decided that I would not shake his hand at all because of his dishonesty for which he was later removed from office. I am finicky as to who I want to meet or shake hands with.

Indeed, as everyone now knows, upon first meeting Charles on a rain-swept day at the polo field in Windsor Great Park, a brassy Camilla uttered the immortal line: "My great-grandmother was your great-great-grandfather's mistress. How about it?'' What a line. It certainly surpasses that old line, “Would you like to come up to my flat and look at my etchings?”

In any event, the bloom is well off the royal rose circa 2009, most especially with these wilting middle-aged flowers. Gone is the glamour of those heady Diane days, the princess oozing sex appeal – if not, apparently, in her husband's straying eyes. His sexual longing always ran towards the dowdy Camilla, as revealed so excruciatingly in the notorious "Tampon call.

According to the Angus Reid poll, 35 per cent of Canadians now prefer an elected head of state and only 27 per cent are content with a monarchy. Rumblings of severing our ties to an across-the-pond sovereign have been given new impetus with this tour.

If Camilla has come in out of the cold, tucked now into the correct side of the silk sheets as far as Brits are concerned; or so palace spin-courtiers insist; Canadians, with so little exposure to this royal couple apparently remain cool. Even the inherent eccentricity of the royal clan – and we all got a voyeuristic kick out of their assorted soap operas through the '80s and '90s – has turned to dullness with their antics. They seem to be suffering from a charisma bypass.''

“Long live the king!” My response to that proclamation is to quote Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dicken’s tale of Christmas, “Bah, humbug.”