Only Justin Trudeau would try to put himself above the King

National Post, 05 May 2023

Simple vainglory the obvious motivation for putting 'Trudeau Crown' atop Canada's Royal Coat of Arms

For a coronation day gift to King Charles III, His Majesty’s government in right of Canada has decided to reject his personal heraldic style in favour of something which critics call the “Trudeau Crown”.

Sovereigns choose their own royal “cypher.” It is the official monogram, their initials alongside a representation of the Crown. Over time it becomes ubiquitous, appearing on state documents, medals, buildings and, in the United Kingdom, Royal Mail post boxes.

For the late Queen Elizabeth it was EIIR — Elizabeth II Regina — surmounted by a stylized depiction of St. Edward’s Crown, with which she was crowned in 1953. For King Charles, the cypher is CRIII — Charles Rex III — with the stylized Tudor Crown which had been employed in his grandfather’s cypher, King George VI.

The sovereign’s choice is then incorporated into other heraldic expressions. For example, the RCMP badge includes the St. Edward’s Crown chosen by Elizabeth II. Most prominently, the crown sits atop Canada’s coat-of-arms, or more specifically, the Arms of His Majesty the King in Right of Canada.

Thus in 1957, some four years after the last coronation, those Canadian Arms were modified to include the St. Edward’s Crown instead of the Tudor Crown. The current expectation was that, in due course, without any drama, the Arms would have been modified to go back to the Tudor Crown, as Charles has decided to follow his grandfather’s choice.

But no. As the Post’s John Ivison has reported, the Trudeau government has decided to act immediately, unveiling on coronation day a new Arms of His Majesty the King which do not employ His Majesty’s choice for his own royal cypher. Instead of the Tudor Crown, there will be a novelty drawn up by our national heraldry office.

Ivison reports that this new crown “replaces all Christian and religious symbols (crosses and fleur-de-lis) with maple leafs, snowflakes and stars”. Beavertails, apparently, were too difficult to include.

Is this an anti-religious move? I doubt it. It is likely simple vainglory. Our prime minister does not get to wear a crown so the next best thing is to plunk his own confection atop the national coat-of-arms. As we have not yet seen the “stars” on this new crown, it is not clear whether they are taken from the flag of the People’s Republic of China, expressing the support of that regime for the prime minister.

Is this important? Evidently it was important enough for the government to deliberately depart from the expected and traditional thing. Evidently it was thought that the actual representation of the sovereign in the sovereign’s Canadian arms should not follow the sovereign’s own choice. That is important, for it elevates the preference of the prime minister to a place which he does not occupy in our crown-in-parliament constitutional monarchy.

Should the next prime minister amend the arms with his own “Poilievre Crown” or “Singh Crown”? Perhaps an oil derrick in honour of the former’s home province of Alberta, or the Ambassador Bridge in honour of the latter’s attending an expensive private school in Michigan?

Symbols matter, and they matter in part because they have significance greater than the preferences of the current incumbents. The actual sovereign would never have dreamed of inventing his own crown. Royals know better. That kind of arrogance is reserved for lesser men who confuse electoral victory with the national identity.

Continue reading at the National Post.