Prince Philip awarded 2 Orders by Canada

[JPL]

Prince Philip was named a Companion of the Order of Canada and a Commander of the Order of Military Merit, a surprise honour as his brief visit to Toronto got underway. Gov.-Gen. David Johnston presented the Duke of Edinburgh with the insignias of both orders at a ceremony at the downtown Royal York Hotel. The honours were a surprise to the Duke, who is in Canada for what the federal government described as “a private working visit” to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of York.

Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/prince-philip-presented-with-order-of-canada-at-start-of-visit-1.1254775#ixzz2Rkpj2O1J

Jean-Paul

[Chris Boonzaier]

I hope he makes some of his wonderfully politically incorrect statements... I love reading them.. :-)

[TacHel]

I must admit at being a bit surprised we hadn't already presented him a CMM years ago...

[peter monahan]

The bicentennial was chosen as the occasion for HRH to present the 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment with a new colour, which he last did in 1973. Philip has been Colonel-in-Chief of the RCRs for sixty years, beginning when he was 32 years of age! The battle honour "DETROIT" has been added to the colours of 3rd RCR to commemorate units of the Essex and Windsor Militias, whose recruits come from the same geographical from which RCR recruits originally came, so that the RCRs have been deemed a descendant unit of those militias.

I should add here that this decision was the result of a campaign organized some 2 years ago and was strongly opposed by some members of the current Canadian Forces and the Department of National Defence, on the grounds that the Canadian Army only came into existence in 1850 and that, therefore, there are no lineal descendants of units in existence before that date. I must admit to having mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, British units received battle honours for at least 3 battles in the War of 1812, so should not Canadian units get them too? On the other hand, no unit of the Cdn Forces, with the possible exception of the Royal Newfoundland regiment - the one I portray in my Re-enactments - even shares a name with the units which existed in 1812 and some of the 'connections' are tenuous at best.

Thoughts on this?

Edited April 29, 2013 by peter monahan

[torscot]

my brother greeted the prince when he arrived(works for border services) and then stripped the princes bodyguard of his service weapon saying that the rcmp would take on the duty

[peter monahan]

my brother greeted the prince when he arrived(works for border services) and then stripped the princes bodyguard of his service weapon saying that the rcmp would take on the duty

Nice!

I assume that's standard practice these days, but I don't thin k it was always so. I taught for some years in downtown Toronto, about a block from Queen's Park [our provincial legislature]. I was considerably startled one day while taking a back alley short cut to the coffee shop to pass 2 large limos, each guarded by large men carrying submachine guns. It turns out that the King of Jordan was speaking nearby and this was his security detail. If I have to say it, unlike some places, automatic weapons are not a common sight on Canadian streets!

Edited May 8, 2013 by peter monahan