Protesters stall royals in Montreal
Prince delivers colours to Black Watch Royal Highland Regiment
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 10, 2009 | 9:38 PM ET
CBC News
Riot police confront protesters gathered outside the armoury of the Black Watch Royal Highland Regiment in Montreal ahead of the royal couple's arrival. (CBC) Riot police intervened to push back about 200 anti-monarchist protesters ahead of Prince Charles's visit to a Montreal armoury Tuesday.
The noisy protesters, mostly members of radical sovereigntist groups, chanted slogans against the monarchy. They also waved flags and placards reading, “Majesty go home.”
Some of the protesters also threw eggs.
The members of the separatist Société St-Jean Baptiste and the Réseau de Résistance du Québécois want an apology for what they say is the British monarchy's role in the alleged cultural genocide of francophones in North America over the last 400 years.
"I'm here to support democracy," Normand Cossette said in an interview. "I think a monarch is an obsolete institution, and it's not democratic.
"I'm here to speak in favour of democracy, republics and power to the people, not power to the monarchy."
'How very sorry my wife and I are to have kept you all waiting so long. I fear there was a little local disturbance.'—Prince Charles
Another demonstrator, who identified himself as Max Hydrogen, said it is "ridiculous" that the monarchy still exists in Canada, with the Queen as head of state.
"It's time that we get rid of it and replace it with a republic and have an elected Senate and an elected president."
Montreal police confirmed three people were stopped by police and handed tickets for refusing to obey the orders of a police officer. No criminal charges will be laid, said Const. Olivier Lapointe.
Military ceremony
Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall present the Black Watch Royal Highland Regiment with new colours. (CBC) The protest delayed a visit by Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, to the armoury of the historic Black Watch Royal Highland Regiment, of which the prince is the colonel-in-chief. He took over the job following the death of the Queen Mother, who last inspected the regiment's troops in 1987.
The royal couple received a warm welcome once they were finally able to enter the armoury through a service door.
After inspecting the guard and presenting the regiment with new colours, Charles began his remarks with an apology.
"How very sorry my wife and I are to have kept you all waiting so long,” said the prince. “I fear there was a little local disturbance."
Charles praised the sacrifices of the regiment, both past and present, noting his son Prince Harry has served in Afghanistan.
"I fully appreciate the constant nagging anxiety which permeates your life when a loved one is placed in harm's way, particularly during deployment overseas," Charles said.
The Prince of Wales also met privately with Canadian veterans of the Afghan mission and their families — including the parents of Cpl. Jason Patrick Warren.
Warren, 29, was killed by a suicide bomber while serving in Afghanistan in July 2006.
Received Quebec films
The royal couple are in Montreal for a half-day visit. They travelled from Ottawa by plane and touched down at Trudeau airport around lunchtime, the first time the prince of Wales has been in Montreal since a visit during the 1976 Olympics.
They met with Quebec Premier Jean Charest and his wife, Michèle Dionne, at the premier’s downtown Montreal office.
Charest provided the prince with a gift of 11 Quebec films including The Last Continent by renowned environmentalist Jean Lemire, and Charest’s own favourite — La Grande Seduction — or Seducing Dr. Lewis in English. The film is about a small remote Quebec community trying to recruit a doctor.
The prince thanked Charest for the gift in fluent French.
A heavy police presence geared up to ensure the royal couple's safety. Several dozen officers on motorcycles rolled in to stand guard outside Charest's office.
But the crowd outside consisted almost exclusively of well-wishers and star-gazers. Several dozen people, many of them toting cameras, excitedly waited outside in anticipation of snapping a photo of the arriving couple.
They cheered heartily when the prince arrived.
Prince Charles gestures while chatting with clowns at the Cirque du Soleil headquarters in Montreal as Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, looks on. (Graham Hughes/Canadian Press) "I'm here to see the show — that's all," said Claudine Lefort, who works up the street at McGill University. She was walking by on her lunch break and decided to wait for the royal couple.
The couple also made a brief stop to greet artists with the Cirque du Soleil at their Montreal headquarters. Charles and Camilla seemed particularly impressed with a selection of masks on display as they entered one workshop.
After the performance, they stopped by a studio for a few minutes where they watched a couple of performers having makeup applied. The duchess quizzed the makeup artists, asking how long it took to apply the intricate designs.
The couple were greeted with smiles, large groups of workers and often cheers as they toured.
The couple will be back in Ottawa on Wednesday, where they will take part in Remembrance Day ceremonies.
The couple wrap up their 11-day coast-to-coast visit Thursday when they return to England.
With files from The Canadian Press
