Wednesday, July 13
An Appeal to Her Majesty the Queen
This I did not know, but apparently Queen Elizabeth still has some actual authority to govern up her sleeve.
The Queen can, I guess, block legislation in Canada by refusing to allow the Governor to grant royal assent once a bill is passed.
A Methodist minister in Canada is pleading the Queen to do just that with regard to same-sex marriages:
"Our beloved Queen Elizabeth II, I know that the refusal of the Governor General to give royal consent would precipitate a crisis. Millions have nowhere else to turn but you,'' Mainse wrote in a letter he sent last week to Buckingham Palace.
"Should you act in this, millions of us would surely become more fervent supporters of the monarchy than ever,'' he wrote.
(read the rest here)A crisis is true: I imagine that if the Queen actually did interfere with such a hot-button issue, the days of a Republican Canada would not be far off. And I can't say that I really think her interference is likely, as it seems to be the Queen has not sought to garner political clout much at all during her reign. I imagine nothing will come of this, but it was interesting to hear that some European royals could (theoretically) do more than, well, sit around looking royal.
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