QUEBEC – When Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited Quebec City in 1964 they were booed by hundreds of protesters who turned their backs on them, some of them even pulled down their pants.
"Asked to comment on it later, Prince Philip said: `That’s very interesting, even with their backs turned, many of them managed to turn their heads to see what we looked like,’ " says Jacques Monet, author of The Canadian Crown and an expert on the monarchy in Canada.
Many Quebecers are expected to fill the streets of Quebec City on July 3 to catch a glimpse of the newlywed royal couple William and Kate.
"It won’t go unnoticed. Not only are they young and hip, but this is a visit that comes on the heels of a major media event, the royal wedding," said Antonia Maioni, a political science professor at McGill University.
Robert Finch, of the Monarchist League of Canada, thinks Quebec City crowds will be huge because the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are celebrities.
"This will be one of the most covered royal tours ever," he said, noting the international media will have its eyes on Canada because of the worldwide interest in the couple.
But anti-monarchists will be in Quebec City, too, and plan to demonstrate on July 3 at Quebec City Hall to protest the trip, which is being paid for by Canadian taxpayers.
It is unclear how many will turn out, but police are preparing for it and CSIS agents have already paid a visit to Patrick Bourgeois, a well-known sovereigntist who is organizing the demonstration.
But no one expects it to be as hostile as the big protest held in front of the provincial legislature on Oct. 10, 1964 during the Queen’s visit – a time of independence turmoil.
Quebec City police clubbed the crowds and the day infamously became known as "le Samedi de la matraque" – Truncheon Saturday.
Monet, a Jesuit and historian, said despite the demonstrations, the 1964 visit was not as disastrous as pictured by some.
He said many remember only the violence, not the "remarkable" speech delivered by Queen Elizabeth II at the provincial legislature in which she called for a new Canadian
Constitution and advocated for a special place for Quebec within Canada.
The speech, delivered almost entirely in French, received a warm welcome in the Quebec press at the time, Monet recalled.
"I don’t think it’s true that the citizens of the City (of) Quebec are unwelcoming of members of the Royal Family," said Monet, who also worked for former governor general Jules Leger.
He pointed out that the first visit of a king and queen of England to Canada in 1939 was made to Quebec City. King George VI and his wife, Elizabeth, were greeted by a large and very enthusiastic crowd, Monet said.
He said Quebecers’ relationship to the monarchy changed when nationalism emerged and the royals became a symbol of British oppression and colonialism. "The respect for the Royal Family in Quebec was a given in French Canadian history until the 1960s," he
said.
Since then, Quebec has consistently registered the highest anti-monarchist sentiments in public opinion and no prominent member of the Royal Family has set foot in Quebec City since the Queen’s last visit in 1987 – which occurred without incident or protest.
Finch hopes the royal visit next month will be an opportunity to bridge "a lot of gaps" and show maturity.
"I think it’s a sign of the times, that hostility toward the monarchy that was out in the past has subsided," he said. "Will you have a few protesters here and there? Of course you
will, that’s to be expected, but they won’t be the story of this royal tour. I think the story will be Quebecers welcoming the future king and queen."
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However, Maioni cautions against jumping to the conclusion this royal visit will signal a new dawn for the monarchy in Quebec.
"What does that mean in terms of Quebecers’ attachment or relationship to the monarchy? Not much, because most Quebecers are looking at this `media-ized’ couple as exactly that, celebrities, not as representatives of some kind of connection to Great Britain," she said.
"Any kind of warm and fuzzy feeling that Quebecers are going to develop about this royal visit is not going to translate in terms of who and what they represent."
Monet said it’s a "happy coincidence" the young couple will be in Quebec City on July 3 – the city’s birthday and exactly three years after the major 400th anniversary celebrations
the Queen didn’t attend.
Reports before the festivities in 2008 said the federal government listened to the protests and decided not to invite the Queen, fearing her presence would stir tensions between federalists and separatists.
This came at the same time as the controversy of a planned re-enactment of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 2008, which eventually led to the cancellation of the event.
It is unclear why the newlyweds decided to travel to the provincial capital, but Monet said they are correcting a "big mistake" that was made by the federal government.
"I am sure the people who regretted the Queen didn’t go to the 400th anniversary wanted to seize the opportunity to make sure this time they (the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge) would come to Quebec City," he said.
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