Posted by Ian McKechnie on November 4, 2009, 5:05 pm, in reply to "Re: The Canadian Prince"
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Agreed, but we must ask exactly what "Canada" and "Canadian" are. The Royal Family, I agree, are, and will always be, ethnically British (or English, specifically). But the term "Canadian," when used to denote a distinct ethnicity (as in "I'm just Canadian") holds, I think, very little water. My ancestors immigrated from the United Kingdom in the 1840's, but did that make them somehow less British and more Canadian? I doubt it. I have been living here for all my life, but I would never dare consider myself to be Canadian in the cultural sense of the word simply because I believe in the "cultural mosaic" theory.
Indeed, your point about the Royal Family being "Canadian" only legally and constitutionally makes perfect sense for not only them but for every other citizen as well. Canada is a nation built by immigration from Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. To suggest that someone of a visible ethnic minority was "just Canadian" would not only be insulting, I think, but also horribly inaccurate from a cultural and historical point of view. Everyone who lives here is, with some minor exceptions, Canadian only in the legal sense of the word. The Prince of Wales does not need to be Canadian in order to be Canada's sovereign. But the Canadian citizen doesn't have to conform to some "distinctly Canadian" culture in order to be Canadian either, if you see what I am getting at. In short: the Prince of Wales is Canadian because his English ethnicity and heritage is just as much a part of the Canadian mosaic as is my Scottish ethnicity/heritage, and someone else's African or Japanese or Polish ethnicity/heritage. Only if the cultural melting pot theory is employed will the Royal Family be considered exclusively British. Canadians are only Canadians because the law says so. The doesn't say one must conform to an idealistic "Canadian" image in order to live, work, or exert influence here.
As a final note: we can't "Canadianize" individual members of the Royal Family. They can, however, work to "Canadianize" their own image. Royal Visits are a great oppurtunity to do this. 
Perhaps the Queen has said it best:
"I treasure my place in the life of Canada, and my bond with Canadians everywhere...It is my privilege to serve you as Queen of Canada to the best of my ability, to play my part in the Canadian identity, to uphold Canadian traditions and heritage, to recognize Canadian excellence and achievement and to seek to give a sense of continuity in these exciting, ever-changing times in which we are fortunate enough to live."
"I want the Crown to be seen as a symbol of national sovereignty belonging to all. It is not only a link between Commonwealth nations, but between Canadian citizens of every national origin and ancestry... I want the Crown in Canada to represent everything that is best and most admired in the Canadian ideal. I will continue to make it so during my lifetime. I hope you will all continue to give me your help in this task."
"Canada asks no citizens to deny their forebears, to forsake their inheritance - only that each should accept and value the cultural freedom of others as he enjoys his own. It is a gentle invitation, this call to citizenship."
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