Celebrate Commonwealth Day - with the Queen

The first Empire Day took place on 24th May 1902, celebrated prior to 1901 as the birthday of Queen Victoria. Empire Day became a major event, involving, among other things, school parades. Today 60 years ago, on 12th March 1958, the British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan announced in Parliament the renaming of Empire Day as Commonwealth Day.

The Commonwealth and Britain have a shared history, cultural links, common legal systems and business practices. Following a 1973 proposal by the Royal Commonwealth Society, the Commonwealth Secretariat selected the second Monday in March as the date on which Commonwealth Day is observed throughout all countries of the Commonwealth.

This 12th March people in Commonwealth countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Americas, the Pacific and Europe will observe Commonwealth Day. Faith and civic gatherings, debates, school assemblies, flag raising ceremonies, street parties and fashion shows are just some of the events they will use to celebrate the vast diversity, strong unity and uplifting values that define the Commonwealth.

In London, Head of the Commonwealth Queen Elizabeth II will attend a multicultural, multi-faith service at Westminster Abbey with a mixture of testimonies, performances and readings from throughout the Commonwealth. The event will be broadcast live on BBC One from 2.45pm (GMT) and will feature a procession of Commonwealth flags, with a young flag bearer representing each of the 53 nations of the Commonwealth.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth, sends this message on Commonwealth Day:

We all have reason to give thanks for the numerous ways in which our lives are enriched when we learn from others. Through exchanging ideas, and seeing life from other perspectives, we grow in understanding and work more collaboratively towards a common future. There is a very special value in the insights we gain through the Commonwealth connection; shared inheritances help us overcome difference so that diversity is a cause for celebration rather than division.

We shall see this in action at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting which takes place in the United Kingdom next month, bringing together young people, business and civil society from across the Commonwealth.

These gatherings are themselves fine examples of how consensus and commitment can help to create a future that is fairer, more secure, more prosperous and sustainable. Having enjoyed the warm hospitality of so many Commonwealth countries over the years, I look forward to the pleasure of welcoming the leaders of our family of 53 nations to my homes in London and Windsor.

Sport also contributes to building peace and development. The excitement and positive potential of friendly rivalry will be on display next month as we enjoy the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Australia. Contributing to the success of the Games, alongside athletes and officials, will be thousands of volunteers.

Voluntary effort, by people working as individuals, in groups or through larger associations, is so often what shapes the Commonwealth and all our communities. By pledging to serve the common good in new ways, we can ensure that the Commonwealth continues to grow in scope and stature, to have an even greater impact on people's lives, today, and for future generations.

Why the Monarch matters

Phillip Blond Director, ResPublica think tank, had a radio essay on the BBC. He argued that the Monarch has an important, continuing and foundational role in contemporary politics.

Here are his main points in favour of the Constitutional Monarchy as we enjoy it in Australia:

A king is a person vested with ruling and sovereign authority over land and people. He is a single personage with the right to rule over the nation.

There is a difference though between the power expressed by the monarch and that held by the prime minister. Initially we might think that the prime minister represents the democratic process. That he or she is a check on the absolute and arbitrary claims of the king.

But in reality the reverse is the case.

Does not the ideal monarch stand for a higher good and a deeper principle than that of the politician? Indeed by personifying the nation, the monarch holds politicians and democratic politics to a higher standard.

The King or Queen in seeking to stand for all members of the national commonwealth saves us from extremism and the righteous fundamentalism of those who believe only in their beliefs.

What I am beginning to suggest here is the paradox that democracy itself is not enough to ensure the continuation of democracy.

Unless we have powers that represent other interests than that of a temporary and often manipulated majority, we will be dominated by the contest for electoral superiority, and determined by the unlimited rule of those who win.

Monarchy helps to sustain the democratic process by mixing a power other than that of democracy with democracy.

And in this respect, mixed constitution - the combination of the rule of the many, the few and the one - is more effective than the division of powers in preventing elected tyranny.

Monarchy - the rule of the one - acts as a kind of umpire which ensures that the democratic process itself cannot cannot be subverted and that it displays a certain rule of fairness. In short the monarch upholds the rule of law.

Thus of some 40 constitutional monarchies in the world, 16 of which recognise the Queen as sovereign, all have clearly observed constitutional procedures.

Constitutional monarchies also comprise some of the world's most developed, wealthy, democratically accountable and progressive states.

According to the UN, seven of the top 10 countries in the world in terms of quality of life are constitutional monarchies.

Certain inherited institutions: the king, the lords and the church, representing the one, the few and the transcendent; stood guard over the notion of the objective good and the common good.

So to defend democracy, we need more than democracy.

Were we to abolish or further limit the power of the British monarch therefore, we would remove the very lynchpin that has secured our British liberties, equities, social mobility and sense of economic justice over hundreds of years.

You can hear a longer version of this essay via the BBC iPlayer.

The Queen of Canada:
"It’s very good to be home"

“As Queen of Canada for nearly six decades my pride in this country remains undimmed,” Queen Elizabeth said on her arrival in Halifax, Nova Scotia. “It’s very good to be home.”

The Globe and Mail reported:

"In the pouring rain, the Queen walked steadily and deliberately down the stairs of the Canadian Air Force plane that brought her and Prince Philip from London.

"There was no sign of frailty as she held her own umbrella; later, she showed not a hint of discomfort as the cold wind whipped during the official welcome ceremony at the edge of Citadel Hill.

"It was the first time Queen Elizabeth has been in this province for 16 years, and hundreds of Nova Scotians lined up for hours to get a look.

"The Queen returned the crowd’s affection by hinting at the depth of her attachment to this country."

The nine-day visit will take the Queen of Canada and her husband, The Duke of Edinburgh, also to Manitoba and Ontario, where they will celebrate Canada Day on Parliament Hill Thursday.

It has to be noted, that the BBC - unlike its Australian counterpart - correctly referred to Queen Elizabeth II as Queen of Canada as soon as she touched down in Halifax. In itself, this is no great achievement, but considering the persistant ignorance of constitutional facts by the ABC, The Age and countless other Australian media, the proper reporting has to be highlighted.

The passionate Prince
A friend in the UK was kind enough to record the documentary the BBC had broadcast on the occasion of Prince Charles’ 60th birthday on 14th November 2008: “A passionate Prince” and send me a DVD. After watching it, I can understand why no Australian TV station has broadcast it: It would demonstrate the lack of a personality like Prince Charles here in Australia. The BBC film crew could accompany The Prince of Wales for 12 months and they caught a deep insight not only into the Prince’s 25 charity organisations and how they work, but also into his thinking, his ideas, his compassionate way of seeing the world.

My only hope is that Australia will use the power that this Prince has at the age of 60 and give him the chance to set up examples of environmental friendly farming, housing and living. He should be granted a piece of land in Victoria to demonstrate his ideas down under. His concept of the restoration of natural grassland is directly relevant to Australia. Given the recently announced extensions to Melbourne that will impact massively on important native grasslands surrounding Victoria's capital.

I wonder what people like Frank Devine who accused him of having “a lot of kinky green convictions” would think had they ventured to watch the documentary. But they prefer to ignore and ridicule him. That’s easier than to start having it out with the issues Prince Charles is so engaged with.

I am glad I am one of the few in Australia who could actually watch the documentary so many commented and published their ideas about it. I had the opportunity to listen to the passions that set the Prince in course.