The royals have their causes, but how much difference can they make? | CBC News

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Over the years, various members of the Royal Family have taken on various causes.

For King Charles and Prince William, environmental issues have been a high priority. Camilla, the Queen Consort, has focused on support for survivors of domestic violence and literacy.

And just a few days ago, Catherine, Princess of Wales, was putting one of her primary concerns front and centre again, with the launch of a campaign that will try to boost public understanding of the significance of children’s early years in influencing their lives as adults.

“The way we develop, through our experiences, relationships and surroundings during our early childhood, fundamentally shapes our whole lives,” Catherine said as the Shaping Up campaign was kicked off.

Catherine’s initiative soon found itself the target of criticism, with a campaign group saying that what’s needed is long-term investment and funding for the early years, rather than a focus on raising awareness.

All of which leads to a question of the extent to which members of the Royal Family can influence society and have an impact with their campaigns, initiatives and words that aim to address some of the ails of the modern world.

“It’s easy to dismiss royal soft power, because that’s what this is, as unimportant, as decorative fluff,” said Judith Rowbotham, a social and cultural scholar and visiting research professor at the University of Plymouth in southwestern England, via Zoom the other day.

Rowbotham looks to previous generations of the Royal Family and sees examples where having royal endorsement can leave a legacy.

“When we think of nursing and the professionalization of nursing, we tend to think of Florence Nightingale, who certainly worked tirelessly for that cause,” Rowbotham said.

“But in many ways, from the contemporary perspective, it was the championing … of nurses and professionalization by the daughters and daughters-in-law of Queen Victoria that ensured that Florence Nightingale’s work kept high-profile and kept the legacy.”

At other times, royal efforts may fall a little flatter, Rowbotham suggested, noting also the importance of any issue having currency in the social climate of the day.

Take, for example, Princess Eugenie’s efforts in 2018 to draw attention to scoliosis as she wore a wedding gown cut deeply in the back to reveal the scar from her back surgery.

“It was commented on, but people didn’t pick it up,” said Rowbotham.

“Having a royal can be useful, but there has to be something else as well, and I am not particularly aware of any new breakthroughs or developments in spinal surgery, spinal treatment that might catch the popular headlines … whereas in areas … like childhood development … there’s been a lot of work.”

Rowbotham said that before Catherine took up early childhood development, “it was something that was there, but it is she who has given it the kind of profile that I think it will retain.”

And it’s interesting, Rowbotham noted, that Catherine “is very careful, very cautious, when making her speeches to be prepared to be controversial [in] emphasizing how important early years development is without getting into the nuanced details and therefore devaluing her contribution by … appearing to take sides.”

When it comes to the environment, Charles and William have been particularly vocal.

The environment has played a “key role in the Royal Family’s media narrative over the last few years” from Charles’s Plant a Tree for the Jubilee and the Queen’s Green Canopy tree planting project, to William’s Earthshot Prize, said Emma Smart, campaign co-ordinator for U.K. grassroots group Wild Card.

“A large majority of the British public follow the Royal Family closely and their priorities in what they preach certainly influence the mainstream,” Smart said via email. 

“Wild Card just hope they put this into practice also, particularly when it comes to their wealth, power and influence, not to mention their vast landholdings in Britain.”

The campaign group is urging the Royal Family to rewild its lands and bring thousands of hectares back to the way they were before humans imposed themselves on the natural landscape. Talks with the Crown Estate are ongoing, Smart said, and the group is facilitating a mapping project to assess the suitability of their landholdings as priority sites for rewilding.

Wild Card feels it is time the Royal Family used its influence “to leave a real legacy, not just nationally, but globally, when it comes to biodiversity and nature restoration,” Smart said, noting also that the group thinks both Charles and William can have “significant impacts” when it comes to land use in the U.K. 

“William is now the largest private landowner in Britain, so his actions set a precedent for others, particularly aristocratic landowners of areas not used for food production.”

Talking with Canadians

There’s no sign of any royal visit to Canada in the near future, but over the past several days, there’s been a bit of a flurry of members of the Royal Family meeting Canadians virtually, or in person in London.

Retired astronaut Chris Hadfield met King Charles at Buckingham Palace on Thursday to talk about sustainability in space.

“What a pleasure and privilege to be asked to advise and assist. And make the King laugh :),” Hadfield tweeted to his 2.3 million followers after the meeting.

A week earlier at Buckingham Palace, Camilla, the Queen Consort, hosted members of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada.

Camilla has been colonel-in-chief of the regiment since 2010, and members presented her with her Canadian Forces’ Decoration, which recognizes more than 12 years of service in the Forces. 

Calgary entrepreneur Manjit Minhas, the regiment’s honorary lieutenant-colonel, says the experience of meeting Camilla “was definitely surreal.”

“We got to talk not only about what the regiment is doing and how successful the exercise is, but also what the future holds,” Minhas said.

“She is a kind, passionate woman who has definitely got a great memory, but is also just really interested and had a lot of great questions.”

A video chat brought another member of the Royal Family to Canada last week, as Prince William spoke with participants at the Arctic Winter Games in Wood Buffalo, Alta.

Canadian athletes taking part in the call included basketball players Haley Hachey of Nunavut and Miguel Portea of Yukon, and snowshoer Jordan Archie of the Northwest Territories.

WATCH | Prince William chats with Arctic Winter Games participants:

Archie said he was a bit nervous and excited when he found out he’d be on the call. Coaches had received an email the day before saying he’d be participating in the virtual meeting.

“I was thinking it is pretty great and just seeing all of the other communities get together, and the prince asking us questions and how we’re liking it with the Arctic Winter Games,” Archie said.

King Charles also sent a message to Nova Scotians on Feb. 2, marking the 175th anniversary of the establishment of responsible government in the province.

In the message, Charles noted that during his 2014 visit to the province, he was sworn into the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada in the same room at Government House in Halifax where Lt.-Gov. John Harvey swore in the first democratically elected cabinet in Canada’s history.

“At that time, I was struck by the historic setting and its profound significance in the history of Canada and the Commonwealth,” Charles said in his message.

As much as these various meetings and messages may be taking place in the U.K. or online, they could also be part of efforts to pave the way for future visits to Canada after Charles’s coronation in May.

“Royal public engagement with Canadian military regiments, athletes and historic occasions in the United Kingdom lays the groundwork for engagement with Canadians in Canada during King Charles III’s post-coronation Commonwealth tours,” said Toronto-based royal author and historian Carolyn Harris via email.

A bit of Canadian content on the coronation playlist

Details about the main events of King Charles’s coronation in May remain few and far between, but other tidbits are trickling out.

This week, the U.K. Department for Culture, Media and Sport released an official government coronation playlist. There’s a bit of Canadian content in the 27-song mix: Crooner Michael Bublé and It’s a Beautiful Day, the first single released from his 2013 album, To Be Loved.

The playlist, which is posted on Spotify and clocks in at about an hour and 45 minutes, is part of a “toolkit” the U.K. government created to help people with their “coronation celebrations.” Street parties are encouraged, and the playlist could provide a soundtrack.

“I think it will serve its purpose,” said Catherine Moore, an adjunct professor in the department of music at the University of Toronto, in an interview.

As much as it may be billed as a coronation playlist, it shares similarities with the music at another high-profile London event a few years ago.

“At least 12 of the artists and five of the songs are the same as the London Olympics 2012 closing ceremony,” said Moore. “So you’ve got David Bowie, Pet Shop Boys, Queen, Elbow, Kate Bush, Spice Girls, The Beatles, The Who and so on.”

Other songs seem to offer more specific nods to this occasion.

“There’s one that’s called King [by Years & Years], last in the playlist,” said Moore, who noted “the titles in a playlist can tell a story.”

And certainly among those titles there seem to be themes the palace and the U.K. government could be wanting to encourage around the coronation. The list kicks off with the Beatles’ Come Together, and includes such tracks as The Who’s Love Reign O’er Me and Treat People With Kindness from Harry Styles.

While a U.K. government spokesperson told the BBC the list was selected to “celebrate British and Commonwealth artists” ahead of the coronation, Commonwealth content is rather slim. Along with Bublé, there is Jamaican-born Grace Jones (Slave to the Rhythm — Hot Blooded Version), and other Jamaican voices (Liz Mitchell and Marcia Barrett) as part of Boney M’s Daddy Cool. But that’s pretty much it.

However, noted Moore, the U.K. Department for Culture, Media and Sport has created a “Music from #OurCommonwealth” playlist, a 2018 offering that includes 54 songs over three hours and 15 minutes.

There would be a “real opportunity” for the U.K. government to link to that playlist now, Moore said.

As for Bublé’s song, it is easy to see why the title could be appealing for those creating the coronation playlist. More curious, perhaps, is the fact that it is actually a breakup song.

Moore says that’s all part of the irony that can be found in songs, and the personal, emotional connections artists want listeners to have with their works.

Moore sees playlists as conversation starters because people will have very different views about the choices.

“If people can pause and slow down a little bit and really talk about what’s in this playlist, kind of separate from the coronation … if you can get people talking about, ‘Well, why is this here and why is this not here,’ then they have to really look at the music and really look at the words to be able to comment on that. And I think that’s great.”

Royally quotable

“We’ve all been worried about you and thinking about your country for so long, I can’t tell you.”

– King Charles to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during a visit to Buckingham Palace. Zelenskyy made a surprise trip to the U.K. on Wednesday, his first visit there since Russia invaded his country nearly a year ago.

Royal reads

1. King Charles won’t feature on Australia’s new $5 bill, the country’s central bank has announced, although the new monarch is still expected to feature on coins. [CBC]

2. The Royal Mail has revealed the image of King Charles that is to appear on new U.K stamps. Charles personally approved the minimalist, unadorned picture, with no crown on the stamp or any other decoration. [BBC]

3. On the royal history front, a metal detectorist has unearthed a Tudor gold pendant linked to Henry VIII. And a team of codebreakers has cracked secret coded messages in letters written by Mary, Queen of Scots while she was imprisoned by her cousin Queen Elizabeth I. [The Guardian]

4. Catherine had a surprise encounter with her former prep school teacher during a visit to Cornwall. She and Prince William, the Duke of Cornwall, were on their first official joint visit to the county since taking on their new roles. [BBC]

5. A man who arrived at Windsor Castle with a loaded crossbow and stated he was “here to kill the Queen” has pleaded guilty to a charge under the U.K.’s Treason Act. [ITV]

6. Netflix has said who will play Prince Andrew in a film based on the disastrous BBC interview he gave over his friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. [The Guardian]

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