For Canadians, envy as British cheer royals as one
By Peter O'Neil, Postmedia News April 28, 2011 9:28 PM
Vancouver businessman James Ducommun and wife Karen decided the royal wedding — with real princesses and real castles — would be more fun than Disneyland for their children Chloe, 7, Aidan, 6, and Isabel, 3. Here they stand with Jamesís mother, Pamela Ducommun, in front of Buckingham Palace after watching the Changing of the Guard Thursday.Photograph by: Peter O'Neil, Postmedia NewsLONDON — Canadians who have escaped the bitter election campaign compare the buoyant atmosphere and sense of national unity here to Canada's euphoria after Sidney Crosby's Olympic gold medal-winning goal.
Some also acknowledge a hint of jealousy that Britain doesn't need to rely on sporting heroics to entice people from varied backgrounds and political views into the streets to celebrate as they are Friday.
That's because the monarchy ensures that every generation will experience at least a few of the institution's major events like the William-Kate wedding, royal births and funerals, major anniversaries and even the occasional coronation.
And these mass public gatherings invariably include Union Jack-waving street parties and some pretty serious beer-quaffing.
"We really thought this was going to be the happiest place on Earth (Friday). Forget Disneyland," said Karen Marshall Ducommun of Vancouver, here with husband James, young children Chloe, Aidan and Isabel, and mother-in-law Pamela Ducommun.
"We thought we'd come and see a real princess parade, a real castle, and real Royal Family."
She said she was relieved to be away from Canada during the election homestretch, and added that she's sensing the same blissful community spirit here that Canadians witnessed during the 2010 Olympics.
The monarchy's role in creating a sense of unity is one of the key arguments the institution's supporters raise when republicans slam the institution as archaic, expensive, undemocratic, scandal-plagued and not particularly useful.
"Jubilees, coronations, royal births — they break down barriers," said Londoner Kate O'Callaghan.
"We're all in the same country, regardless of what we believe or practise, and you just don't ask people what they are or where they come (from). It's just a fun day that everybody shares."
Canadian historian Sandra den Otter said Britain has a "1,000-year start in nation-building" over Canada.
"The royal wedding is one conduit for those powerful, even irrational, sentiments of commonality that bind the nation together, in spite of the many fragmenting elements in modern British society," the Queen's University professor told Postmedia News in an email exchange.
"It is odd to think of a wedding as an embodiment of a political constitution that defines nationhood and a national identity — but this wedding is precisely that. It has crossed partisan political lines."
A young Egyptian man taking orders for shawarmas Thursday didn't dispute these views. He said the royal wedding is a "happy" celebration that is helping him feel closer to the country that became his adopted home four years ago.
Montrealer Helen Meredith said she's spoken to Brits who, even though they are indifferent toward the wedding and the monarchy, are still participating in the festivities.
"They're enjoying how it makes them feel patriotic, and they're getting caught up in flags and street parties and other events that aren't so specific to the wedding itself," she said in front of Buckingham Palace.
Ardent monarchist Virginia Ellis of Ottawa was one of several here Thursday who compared this week's atmosphere to the joy across Canada after Crosby brought the country Olympic glory.
She acknowledged she wishes Canada was able to replicate such celebrations outside the sports arena, though Meredith said geography makes it hard to rally Canadians around a common event.
"In isolated ways we might, but it's hard to draw the whole country together," she said. "I live in Montreal. We have the jazz festival, we have the St. Patrick's Day Parade, stuff like that that's really fun. It draws Montrealers together. It doesn't speak to Vancouver. We've got a big country to negotiate, you know?"
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