For this series, The duty takes you behind the scenes of major reports by its journalists in 2022. Shortly after the announcement of the death of the sovereign of England, Jean-Louis Bordeleau is rushed to a bereaved United Kingdom.
Elizabeth Windsor was the dead of the year. The BBC presenter’s black tie presaged the media eclipse. Once the flag is at half mast, I am immersed in less than 12 hours of preparation and flight in an ocean of condolences.
Now, here I am in England like an island of doubts. Disdain for the British crown is no secret in Quebec. More than 70% of Quebecers want to end the monarchy, according to the latest polls. While the Montreal Journal repatriated its correspondent after a few days, for lack of readership, Radio-Canada deployed its battalion of the best international journalists to tell the mourning of our lives over 10 long days.
Around 7 a.m., the day after the disastrous announcement, silence fell in front of Buckingham Palace. Thousands of people cry and sigh. The emotion shows. A lady interviewed has completely lost her voice for 24 hours. North Korea should take notes for its next episode of collective mourning. A nation that mourns an absolute ruler does not burst into hysterical sobs. She mopes, murmuring memories.
“She’s also your queen,” they quickly tell me on the spot, fraternally. “She united the Commonwealth like no one else. Certainly, Canada is distinguished from the United States by the fact of having been founded by those loyal to the British crown. But, today, what is a royal family worth that costs Canadians $67.1 million every year?
Jeff Reeves will answer the question with acuity. Married to a Frenchwoman, the Englishman mocks and denigrates the monarchy with all his humor british waiting for the arrival of the new king. Once serious, he confesses: “It doesn’t make sense on paper, the monarchy. But today it makes sense. There are workers, white collars, businessmen, all kinds of backgrounds and classes gathered for a ceremony. It is important for our country so divided. At least we have that. »
The monumental “why” of this mourning can also be explained in Edinburgh, the medieval city where the famous coffin stopped. The crowd of loyal subjects and I line the central aisle that connects a Gothic castle and cathedral. The company of the “royal archers” precedes the body which advances slowly. The phrase “context is king” takes on its full meaning. This is a royal setting and a scene that has been repeated for hundreds of years. “It’s history, we can’t do anything about it”, slips me a Scotsman, monarchist despite his state of independence.
For a young nation like ours, this ghost of the past seems anachronistic like an oath that can be consigned to oblivion in a week. For an island with thousand-year-old traditions, it is a living past that comes to say hello. And goodbye.
Between reverence and fanaticism
On television, this unit looks suspicious to me. Every day of this period of national mourning, 24 hours a day, the channels broadcast special programs to tell the good things about the late queen. Elisabeth the second has never granted an interview in 70 years of reign, but we have taken out of the vaults the ten out-of-protocol video extracts that exist. We loop the scene where the celebrated deceased watches a horse race, drives a vehicle (the height of normality) or laughs with her cute corgis. “She was so smiling”, we repeat ad nauseam.
In the subway and in the street, this reverence borders on the bad dystopian film. Everywhere, his black and white portrait stares intensely at passers-by. Bus shelters, billboards and hundreds of public transport screens broadcast the same message of condolence.
However, the 5 foot 4 inch lady had to accumulate the faults, according to the escapades of her immediate family. This same family was “the most dysfunctional in the United Kingdom”, according to a specialist in the monarchy on a French television set. Her role as professional tape cutter and chief “welcome” had confined her to an easy role.
These shortcomings animated, animate and will animate the conversations of the nation, I counted after ten days. The Diana chapter, the Harry chapter, the Andrew chapter or the chapter “the monarchy in Jamaica” all compare to the adventures of a good soap opera. Politics, ultimately, is also that, entertainment. And the queen was the king.