Over 30yrs ago I had the privilege of working one summer in Ottawa for a fellow some of you very well may know - Gerry Wharton - in the department of 'Ceremony and Protocol'. I was able to attend the arrival of Gorbachev at CFB Uplands in May of 1990, be a part of putting together and assembling the Flags and such for Nelson Mandela's visit and a number of others that summer.There is a whole procedure for what is to be done, and how, when the Court is Mourning. It's written down somewhere and I'm 99.99% sure some very senior folks - including inside DND and the CF, are reviewing it right now.
The last time I can recall full Court Mourning was when Governor General Vanier died - March 1967.
I knew Gerry, he was a Guards officer and we served nearby but never actually with one another, in the same unit or HQ branch. After he left the Army he went into the civil service as "Mr Protocol" and then headed once of the veterans' organizations. I haven't seen or heard from him since pre-COVID.Over 30yrs ago I had the privilege of working one summer in Ottawa for a fellow some of you very well may know - Gerry Wharton - in the department of 'Ceremony and Protocol'. I was able to attend the arrival of Gorbachev at CFB Uplands in May of 1990, be a part of putting together and assembling the Flags and such for Nelson Mandela's visit and a number of others that summer.
The immense attention to the smallest detail and protocol is something that I will never forget. All of those past events will pale compared to the detail that will go into this.
Long Live the King!
I kind of suspected it when the whole royal household was recalled to Balmoral earlier in the day.I suspect that we will be having a King very soon.
Our country is 155 years old and she has been our Queen for69 of those years70 years 214 days, almost half of our existence as a country.
But that's the point isn't it. The Throne is the embodiment of the State; politicians and governments come and go, but the State endures.This is shocking news; the Queen has always been a constant in my life. Prime Ministers come and go but she has always been there. In my life I have lived under two Prime Ministers in England, Edward Heath, and Harold Wilson and in Canada 9 different PMs, Pierre Trudeau, Joe Clark, John Turner, Brian Mulroney, Kim Campbell, Jean Chretien, Paul Martin. Stephen Harper, and Justin Trudeau but have only known one Monarch. This will take some time to process.