by Michael Jackson, LVO, CD
Saskatchewan Chief of Protocol & Royal Visit Coordinator

The first visit of the Prince of Wales to Saskatchewan was a resounding success: this appears to be the almost unanimous opinion of all those who met His Royal Highness, the organizations which took part in the visit, the provincial government, and the media ­ even the British media grudgingly admitted that the Prince was well received in Canada! This positive assessment also extended to Ottawa and the Yukon, the other places on the Prince's itinerary.

From my perspective as Royal Visit Coordinator for Saskatchewan, this success was significant in three ways:

It was a personal triumph for the Prince of Wales, who has not, to put it mildly, enjoyed a great deal of public favour in the past decade or so; but rather than a "rehabilitation" of the Prince or a change in him, it was, as one of his senior staff members said to me, a discovery for all of us of the real Prince Charles. He is personable, kind and thoughtful, with a great sense of humour. He has a deep dedication to what he sees as his unique vocation in life; a profound awareness of the essential issues facing society; and a determination, instead of seeking refuge in regal platitudes, to speak his mind on these issues, to stimulate discussion, and to urge all of us forward in seeking the betterment of the human race. From my close proximity during the royal visit, I can attest to the fact that the Prince has a genuine charisma. He is, in a nutshell, a man truly fit to be King of Canada.

Which brings me to the second point: the visit was a great boost for the monarchy in Canada, for the Canadian Crown, which your organization exists to defend and promote. You constantly remind us that the monarchy is not understood and supported enough in our country, is given little profile, and does not figure in our educational system to the extent that it should. Indeed, two prominent federal Cabinet Ministers, John Manley and Brian Tobin, made public statements last month to the effect that we should abolish the monarchy in Canada. The rebuttal was put very well in an editorial in the Regina Leader-Post on May 28th:

if anyone was looking for a good reason why Canada should stick with the monarchy, the recent visit by the Prince of Wales provided it. [...] His performance on his Saskatchewan visit was everything a future monarch's should be: keenly aware of his constitutional role, politely raising issues [...] without hectoring his subjects, but also without taking a partisan stand, often causing us to reflect. [...] All this is in addition to the monarchy's role in fleshing out Canada's self-image. It is something that sets us apart from our neighbours on the North American continent [...] On the monarchy, we say this to ministers Tobin and Manley: if it ain't broke, don't "fix" it.

Thirdly, the visit itself fulfilled the objectives which we set out to achieve. These were essentially related to the two points I have just outlined: to introduce the Prince of Wales to the people of Saskatchewan; and thereby to strengthen the Canadian monarchy. Royal visits in Saskatchewan have always had an educational and policy focus, at least since I have been involved in them, which is over twenty years; and I may say that this is something both the staff of the palaces and our federal colleagues know and appreciate. Our royal visits are organized around themes which are of mutual interest to the member of the royal family and to the Government of Saskatchewan. Let me look at the visit of the Prince of Wales in this light.

 

THEMES OF THE PRINCE'S TOUR

 

The first theme was voluntarism: this is International Year of Volunteers, the Prince of Wales is a great promoter of the volunteer sector, and ... Saskatchewan has the highest rate of voluntarism in Canada. It was natural, therefore, that the annual presentation of the Saskatchewan Volunteer Medal should take place in the presence of His Royal Highness in the Legislative Chamber, and that the Prince should address us on this occasion. The Prince also met volunteers at Regina City Hall and indeed everywhere he went. A feature of his Saskatoon visit was the Community Service Village, which groups several volunteer social agencies under one roof in the downtown.

 

Another theme was youth and education, one of the Prince's pet projects. We took His Royal Highness on a tour of Scott Collegiate in Regina; he helped launch the Canadian Youth Business Foundation in Saskatchewan; and children and young people turned out in droves to see him. It is true that many of the youth, like the Premier's teen-age daughter or my nine-year-old daughter, were keen on meeting Prince William and Prince Harry's dad ­ but there is no denying the appeal of the royal family to our young people!

 

Yet another theme was the inner city, again one of the Prince's special interests. Of course Saskatchewan has nothing like the large cities of Europe or elsewhere in Canada, but we do have our share of urban problems.

 

That's why we included the "Chili for Children" school lunch program in north-central Regina and the Community Service Village in Saskatoon. And of course, Scott Collegiate is an inner-city school in Regina. In his remarks at the Premier's luncheon in Saskatoon, the Prince referred to the pressing need to provide opportunities and hope to our youth, especially those in depressed urban areas. At that same luncheon, Premier Lorne Calvert announced that the Province's gift to the Prince would be a scholarship fund for students in grade 11, to encourage them to complete their secondary school education, and that these scholarships would be targeted to the newly-designated community high schools, of which Scott Collegiate is one.

 

As one might expect, agriculture and rural life were featured on the royal visit, because they are dear to the heart of the Prince of Wales and, of course, central to Saskatchewan and its economy. It is unthinkable that royal visitors should not go to rural Saskatchewan, and especially the Prince of Wales. This is why Assiniboia was such a key part of the itinerary. Unfortunately, the foot-and-mouth epidemic in Britain prevented us from taking the Prince to a farm as we had planned; instead, we brought the farmers to the Prince, in Assiniboia town hall. And they were organic farmers. Prince Charles has the largest organic farm in the United Kingdom; in this, as in many other areas, he was once derided as eccentric but is now seen as prophetic and ahead of his time.

The Prince of Wales is very concerned about the environment, and this is apparent when he cautions his audiences about industrial-type farming, relying on excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides, something we in Saskatchewan need to think about. At Assiniboia, he toured a small plant that does something about a world-wide environmental problem: a rubber recyling plant for used tires from all over Saskatchewan.

And what about what the Prince likes to call the "built environment"? At the Lieutenant Governor's dinner at Government House in Regina, he commended us on preserving and restoring this historic property and on our plans for developing it further, including restoration of the grounds.

 

The Aboriginal peoples, both First Nations and Metis, are a traditional favourite of the Royal Family, and the feeling is mutual. No group in our society respects the Crown and the monarchy more than the Indian peoples, mindful of the historic treaties signed with Queen Victoria. They were very much in evidence throughout the tour: at Regina City Hall, where the Prince learned a dance from an Indian dancer ­ that photo was flashed around the world; at Scott Collegiate; and above all at Wanuskewin Heritage Park near Saskatoon.

 

There, he met with Chief Perry Bellegarde of the Federation of Saskatchewan Nations and other senior Indian leaders; toured the interpretive centre; watched a spectacular display of Indian dances; and went for a quiet walk and meditation with an elder. He received the honour of an Indian name, meaning "he on whom the sun shines favourably" (and it was a very hot day!).

 

MEMORIES

 

There are many other things to remember about this visit: the eloquent, thoughtful speech His Royal Highness gave in the Legislature; the colourful multicultural welcome at Regina City Hall; the tour of the NATO Flying Training facility at 15 Wing Moose Jaw; the enthusiastic crowds at the Meewasin Valley weir in Saskatoon; the conferral of honorary membership in the Saskatchewan Order of Merit on His Royal Highness by the Lieutenant Governor ­ a first for Saskatchewan, and, in terms of provincial honours, a first for the Prince and for Canada. There was, too, the "named" legacy of the visit: His Royal Highness officially opened The Prince of Wales fully-accessible entrance to the Saskatchewan Legislative Building and the adjoining Cumberland Gallery housing the Canadian Native Heritage Collection of First Nations artists; he turned the sod for The Prince of Wales Cultural and Recreational Centre in Assiniboia; and he inaugurated The Prince of Wales Promenade in Saskatoon, part of the Trans-Canada Trail.

 

PROBLEMS?

 

Of course there were problems ­ there always are. Before the visit, you probably saw me on television, all too often, as government spokesman, first about the foot-and-mouth disease issue, then about the labour disputes in the hotel industry. But happily they were resolved just in time for the visit, and after that I can honestly say that everything went very well indeed.

Well, not quite: we did run late fairly often. But that was because of the love-in between the Prince and the Saskatchewan public. He simply could not get enough of them, and they of him. He kept delaying his departures from the various engagements in order to be with the people ­ which is, in the final analysis, what royal visits are all about ­ and then apologizing to us about it. In fact, virtually the last words His Royal Highness said to me at Saskatoon Airport before leaving for Yukon were, "I'm sorry I'm late!" To which I replied, "Sir, you can stay as long as you want!" And I think that sums up what we in Saskatchewan felt about the Prince of Wales.

Just a footnote: the government is going to publish an educational booklet about the Prince of Wales and his visit to Saskatchewan, in the fall of this year. And you can be sure that lots of copies will be made available to the members of the Monarchist League!

 

The above article, prepared by Mr Jackson for CMN, is a revision of remarks originally delivered to the Regina Branch of The Monarchist League of Canada, June 15, 2001