Earl and Countess of Wessex: Visit to Canada and the US - June 3-11, 2009

[rmay286]

They are getting some coverage in Canada. On CBC news last night, there was a video clip of Edward presenting the Duke of Edinburgh award to a young woman. She seemed pretty excited to meet him. :)

[Mermaid1962]

We really like the Wessexes over here. Sometimes I wish that we still had members of the Royal Family as Governors General, because Edward and Sophie would do very well at it. But I know that it "ain't gonna happen."

Originally Posted by Al_bina

It is nice that Prince Edward and Countess of Wessex undertook an engagement in Canada. It seems to me that the above couple has been assigned to deal with Canada. Sadly the UK press is more interested in publishing negative things about Prince Edward. He does not look impressive in a military uniform though.

[Al_bina]

Actually ... having Prince Edward as the General Governor in Canada is not a bad idea. I am sure he can do the job. I wish Prince Andrew were the ambassador of the UK in Kazakhstan ...

[Mermaid1962]

I think that it would be seen by a great number people as a "throw-back to our colonial past." That's neither my view nor that of many monarchists. In effect, having a member of the RF as Governor General would open the whole monarchial can-of-worms. I can't imagine a Prime Minister even suggesting it because of political reasons. Canadians seem to be content with what we have now, the Queen as the Head of State and a Canadian Governor General. Actually, the current Governor General and the previous female one were both immigrants and media personalities. That makes a change from Canadian politicians, I suppose.

Originally Posted by Al_bina

Actually ... having Prince Edward as the General Governor in Canada is not a bad idea. I am sure he can do the job. Can they send Prince Andrew to be the UK ambsaddor in Kazakhstan?

[Claire]

It is certainly not unheard of. They discussed putting his name forward as governor general in New Zealand about six years. So you might have to fight them for him.

[Vecchiolarry]

Hi,

Prince Edward presented a golden labrador dog today to the RCMP here from The Queen - one of her personal breeding stock - a great honour....

I wouldn't mind Edward & Sophie as Governor General & First Lady of Canada; but in the 70's, it was Prince Andrew who was considered to be Canada's prince.
Both he and The Queen Mother were once touted to be GG's at one time or another, but that never happened. Pity......

Larry

[Mermaid1962]

It's certainly safe to say that Edward and Andrew are the princes we see the most. Perhaps Andrew and Sarah could have made a go of it if they were in Rideau Hall during the late 80s and early 90s. The press wouldn't have been so devastating to Sarah here, for one thing. But that's a whole other thread.

I'd love to see Edward as the next Governor General, personally.

[iceflower]

Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, pets a golden Labrador named
Suzanna a gift to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police from
Queen Elizabeth II during a ceremony in Calgary, June 8 2009


** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 **

[Mermaid1962]

I wonder whether she's already had some training in police work, or will she be more like a mascot?
.

[Duchess]

here's a piece on the dog

Suzanna of the Mounties - Nova Scotia News - TheChronicleHerald.ca

[iceflower]

After the trip to Canada, Prince Edward now is in the USA for some days:


Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, announces the launch of The Coral
Reef Conservancy with the Central Caribbean Marine Institute in New
York (pic 1) and attends the Duke Of Edinburgh's Award Luncheon hosted
by Carte Blanche International at the Steven Weiss Studio on June 9,
2009 in New York City.


** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 ** Pic 3 ** zimbio gallery **

[rmay286]

Originally Posted by Mermaid1962

It's certainly safe to say that Edward and Andrew are the princes we see the most. Perhaps Andrew and Sarah could have made a go of it if they were in Rideau Hall during the late 80s and early 90s. The press wouldn't have been so devastating to Sarah here, for one thing. But that's a whole other thread.

I'd love to see Edward as the next Governor General, personally.

The interesting thing is that a couple of months ago, Sarah was interviewed by the CBC and she said that Andrew becoming the Governor-General was "very much talked of" (although I think she was probably exaggerating with the "very much") when they were first married. She thought that she and Andrew would still be together now if they had been in Canada during the early years of their marriage because of exactly what you said--there would have been less press intrusion (and they would have been together instead of separated by Andrew's naval career). But that is a subject for another thread.

I think that in Canada and some of the other Commonwealth countries, members of the royal family could make good Governors-General. As long as these countries maintain their ties to Britain, the role of "queen's representative" will continue to exist and will have to be filled by someone...so why not actual members of the royal family who need a role to play? The question of "would the queen have done that?" would probably crop up less often, for one thing...(unlike recently in Canada, where the Governor General ate the raw heart of a seal and some commentators, in Britain as well, wondered if she was really representing the Queen by her actions!)

But I think using members of the royal family as Governors-General would ultimately create more problems than it would solve. I totally agree with you, Mermaid1962, that it would be viewed as a "throw-back to our colonial past" because whenever online news articles mention Canada's ties to the British monarchy, people in the comments section often use that phrase. In fact, after Sarah's claim that she and Andrew could have been Governor-General in Canada, a lot of people wrote that the British were so outmoded if they thought they could still come in and "colonize" us. And during the recent "coalition crisis" in Canada when the Governor-General had the authority to decide whether or not to give power to the coalition or to prorogue parliament, people realized for the first time that the Governor-General had a degree of genuine power and many people questioned whether there should be a Governor General at all in a democratic country.

So as much as I think Edward and Sophie could do a good job in the position of Canadian Governor General, I don't think most Canadians would go for it!

[Mermaid1962]

Originally Posted by Duchess

here's a piece on the dog: Suzanna of the Mounties - Nova Scotia News - theChronicleHerald.ca

Thank you, Duchess. That article was great! I had to giggle at this paragraph. It sounds like the same thing that's said whenever princes go into military training:
"She’ll be treated no different than any of the other dogs there and we’ll start her training probably sometime in the next two weeks."

Originally Posted by rmay286

So as much as I think Edward and Sophie could do a good job in the position of Canadian Governor General, I don't think most Canadians would go for it!

That's my thinking about it as well. You've understood my point perfectly.

[iceflower]

Here are some nice additional pics of Sophie in Canada:

Sophie, Countess of Wessex visited the Toronto General
Hospital to dedicate a new transplant centre, June 5, 2009


** Pic 1 ** Pic 2 ** Pic 3 ** Pic 4 **

[PrincessofEurope]

Interetsing to see in picture 2 they have used her full title of The Princess Edward Countess of Wessex

[Mermaid1962]

HELLO Canada has four pages of the Canadian tour this week. There's a shot of Sophie at an evening event as well.

[RoyalProtocol]

Originally Posted by PrincessofEurope

Interetsing to see in picture 2 they have used her full title of The Princess Edward Countess of Wessex

The Princess Edward- Great it is lovely to do things very properly!!!!