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Queen Elizabeth Ii To Open Vancouver 2010 Games


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This is no April Fools.

Queen Elizabeth To Grace Opening Of Winter Olympic Games Hosted By Vancouver

April 2, 2009 1:57 p.m. EST

AHN Staff

London, England (AHN) - Queen Elizabeth will grace the opening in 2010 of the Winter Olympic Games to be hosted by Vancouver, the office of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced on Thursday. Her son, Prince Charles, is also interested in coming along.

According to Globe and Mail, Harper's office has confirmed the monarch's visit, but the details are still being ironed out by Ottawa and London officials. To plan and work out details of the visit, Harper appointed in London on Wednesday Kevin MacLeod as Canadian Secretary to the Queen.

Aside from the royal visit, part of MacLeod's task is to chair the Diamond Jubilee Committee which will organize the celebration of the Queen's 60th anniversary as Queen on Canada in 2012.

Prince Charles planned in 2005 to visit Canada with his wife Camilla, but the prime minister then, Paul Martin, advised him against the visit because of political turmoil in Ottawa at that time.

It would be Queen Elizabeth's 24th visit to Canada when the winter games open on Feb. 12, 2010.

Harper, in a statement, said, "Royal visits demonstrate the enduring ties between the Royal Family and Canadians and offer a unique opportunity to celebrate the important aspect of our shared heritage, culture and identity."

Queen Elizabeth to visit Canada next year

OTTAWA, April 2 (UPI) -- Planning is under way for British Queen Elizabeth to visit Canada and open the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office said.

Harper's office made the announcement after the prime minister met with the monarch in London Wednesday as part of his agenda of the Group of 20 summit, The Globe and Mail reported.

Plans are being made to have the queen open the Games, which begin Feb. 12, and also commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Naval Service of Canada, which was the forerunner of the current navy, the report said.

The monarch turns 83 on April 21 and the 2010 visit would be her 24th to Canada.

The Globe and Mail said Prince Charles was also keen to visit Canada before his mother's trip.

By tradition royal family members only visit by invitation and the last one to Charles in 2005 was rescinded by Prime Minister Paul Martin, who said his minority government was imperiled and the country could face a snap election.

Visits by Queen, Prince Charles in the works

MICHAEL VALPY | GLOBE AND MAIL

April 2, 2009

The Queen and possibly Prince Charles will come to Canada within the next year and a half, the Prime Minister's Office confirmed yesterday.

Although details are still being worked out by Ottawa and Buckingham Palace, speculation is that the Queen, who turns 83 on April 21, will come next year to open the Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver and perhaps mark the centenary of the navy, and Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, will come earlier.

The Globe and Mail reported in February that the Prince was keen to deepen his relationship with Canada, but was thwarted by not having been invited to the country for eight years.

By convention, the Queen and Charles, respectively head of state and next-in-line, can set foot in the country only officially and by invitation.

Print Edition - Section Front

Charles wanted to bring his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, to Canada in 2005, soon after their marriage, but then-prime minister Paul Martin informed him the timing was not propitious because his minority government might be forced into an election.

The Prince and his staff have shown considerable interest in charitable and community work being done by a number of Canadian organizations that parallel his own interests. If he comes, he likely would use his time in Canada to spotlight achievements in education, health, organic agriculture, at-risk youth, corporate social responsibility, architecture and urban planning.

The Queen's visit will be the 24th she has made.

The Olympics open on Feb. 12, 2010. The Naval Service of Canada - subsequently the Royal Canadian Navy and then Canadian Forces Maritime Command - was created in 1910.

Overseeing the Queen's visit, and that of the Prince if he's invited, will be the civil service's long-time expert on monarchy in Canada, Kevin MacLeod, who Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced yesterday would become Canadian Secretary to the Queen.

The announcement was made just before Mr. Harper met the Queen for lunch in London, where he is attending a meeting of the G20 heads of government. Mr. MacLeod travelled there with him.

"Royal visits demonstrate the enduring ties between the Royal family and Canadians," Mr. Harper said, "and offer a unique opportunity to celebrate this important aspect of our shared heritage, culture and identity. In his capacity as Canadian Secretary to the Queen, Mr. MacLeod will play a crucial role in ensuring the success of upcoming Royal visits."

The Canadian Secretary's post has been vacant for four years. Basically, it gives the sovereign a set of astute Canadian eyes and ears.

http://news.google.ca/news?um=1&ned=ca...;ncl=1325407992

Personally, I would have preferred Michaelle Jean....but, I'm not against this either. I think it's great that she's giving us attention, as the Queen of Canada.

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Well, it says she will be there, not that she will open, so I guess there is still a faint hope of Jean opening the games...

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Do Canadians really want her to open the Games? Do they feel she has any relevance to modern day Canada?

Can't say that I'm a fan of the monarchy personally.

To be honnest I'd much rather have a Canadian open them. I think or GG, Michael Jean, would be an ideal candidate, as she is our de facto ceremonial head of state. That and the Queen already opened her share of Olympic Games...

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In a way she will match an "Olympic record", which is held by Adolf Hitler in the moment - she will open two Olympic Games in a row...

Altho the first one will NOT be in her home country -- and they are NOT in the same year.

But hasn't she already topped AH by Opening 4 or 5 CWGs in a row?

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Altho the first one will NOT be in her home country -- and they are NOT in the same year.

yes, that is true - that is the reason why I wrote "In a way"...

But hasn't she already topped AH by Opening 4 or 5 CWGs in a row?

No, since in my point of view are CWGs not so "important" than Olympic Games...

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I just wonder: does Queen Elisabeth have the british, australian, canadian etc. etc...... nationality?

Queen Elizabeth has a different constitutional role for each nation, as head of state

her role is slightly different from say Canada to the UK

full details on the site http://www.royal.gov.uk/ and under realm.

as for commonwealth games the head of the commonwealth opens to games

so as the queen is head of the commonwealth then she does that role.

Queen is really above being a citizen of an individual nation as she is head of state

of several.

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Oh great... Who had that idea? :rolleyes:

It would be perfect if the Queen opened only her "home Games" in 2012, for her 60th anniversary. But now that she already opens another edition of the Olympic Games two years earlier, her opening address at the London Games won't be nothing special anymore. Some viewers will probably say in 2012, "What, Lilibet again?"

I mean, the Queen is a special person and I actually don't find her as bad as it sounds sometimes. But as long as Canada has such a highly presentable and charming Governor General, it's really unnecessary for the Queen to jump the queue. Give Michaelle Jean the chance to be the first Governor General in Olympic history to pronounce the opening address without botching it! Can't Canada become a republic quickly and elect Michaelle Jean its president?

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... if e.g. a french person became the british monarch he/she wouldn't have to become british?

Queen Elizabeth has french and German ancestry as English, one of her predecessors was the dutch

king William!

Queen is head of state of Canada when in Canada the Governor General is below the Queen

because the governor represents the queen when she is away from Canada.

information is on http://www.royal.gov.uk/

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I mean, the Queen is a special person and I actually don't find her as bad as it sounds sometimes. But as long as Canada has such a highly presentable and charming Governor General, it's really unnecessary for the Queen to jump the queue. Give Michaelle Jean the chance to be the first Governor General in Olympic history to pronounce the opening address without botching it!

As this quote from one of those newspapers says: "By convention, the Queen and Charles, respectively head of state and next-in-line, can set foot in the country only officially and by invitation."

So Stephen Harper must have invited her and she accepted as she won't go where she's not wanted.Would he have invited her to come if it was not politically popular with Canadians?

Can't Canada become a republic quickly and elect Michaelle Jean its president?

I couldn't agree more.It's a mystery to me and to most Britons why on earth big,powerful,independent countries like Canada,Australia and New Zealand seem to want to cling on to the British monarchy??? :blink:

Edited by Mainad
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I couldn't agree more.It's a mystery to me and to most Britons why on earth big,powerful,independent countries like Canada,Australia and New Zealand seem to want to cling on to the British monarchy??? :blink:

Maybe they all don't want to do without the glamour (and scandals) provided by "their" Royal Family? For the same reasons, probably many people (but not necessarily the majority) here in Germany would love to have a monarchy again. Royal topics and especially royal weddings are highly popular here.

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... if e.g. a french person became the british monarch he/she wouldn't have to become british?

In the past,we have had various French people take over the English throne,eg.Duke Guillaume of Normandy became King William I (William the Conqueror) after the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and Count Henri of Anjou became King Henry II,first of the Plantagenet line in 1154.However it would not be possible for a person of foreign birth and upbringing to succeed to the British throne today.In theory yes,but in practice...no!

In 1714,a German prince,Elector Georg Ludwig of Hannover became King George I of Great Britain! However,he had already been granted British nationality by the Sophia Naturalisation Act of 1705.This gave his mother,Sophia of Bohemia (who became heir to the British throne in 1701) and all her Protestant descendants automatic British nationality.As this act was only formally repealed in 1949,all Protestant descendants of Sophia born before this year can claim British citizenship!

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I couldn't agree more.It's a mystery to me and to most Britons why on earth big,powerful,independent countries like Canada,Australia and New Zealand seem to want to cling on to the British monarchy??? :blink:

Because of the history and what she stands for! also the idea of having a head of state above politics has

some advantages and the fact your not having a change of office every four years etc.

With the queen being head of state of democracies and a constitutional monarchy its up to

the nation to invite her! that's a constitutional democracy!

Australia in 2000 decided not to invite the queen to open the 2000 Olympic games as

at that time there was a strong constitutional debate going on, and the Queen is above politics.

At the end of the day its up to each of her realms to decide who they want as head of state!

Up to now in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand its working ok, So why change something that

works ok?

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I carnt wait to see the Queen of Canada open the 2010 games!

It's the last chance I think for the Queen do declare open an olympic winter games.

If she also opens the London Olympics she in total declared three Olympics open, that's a record.

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