The federal government still has not released an official Canadian portrait of the King, 550 days after Queen Elizabeth’s death and his accession to the throne — a delay that has left some monarchists anxious, given Charles’s battle with cancer.
It’s customary for the federal Department of Canadian Heritage to produce a uniquely Canadian portrait of the King — a photo of the head of state that can be hung in official venues and in the homes and businesses of royal admirers.
The government website where people can access these portraits still offers one of Elizabeth and another of the late sovereign with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, who died three years ago.
Pallbearers walk past a portrait of the late sovereign during commemorative ceremonies for Queen Elizabeth at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa on Monday, Sept.19, 2022. (Blair Gable/Canadian Press)
Canadian Heritage, the department that’s responsible for all things royal in this country, has partnered with the Monarchist League of Canada in the past to distribute prints of the portrait to all interested Canadians. The posters are free but shipping fees apply.
Robert Finch, chairman of the Monarchist League, said in an interview with CBC News he hasn’t heard anything from the government about when Charles’s image will be rolling off the presses.
With Charles now undergoing treatment for an unspecified form of cancer, Finch said it’s even more important for some sort of portrait to be made available.
God forbid the King’s health is worse than what we think it is — you would definitely want to have some official portrait to mark the reign of King Charles,” he said. “I think, in a way, the King’s health increases the sense of urgency. It’s something we need to have.
In a statement sent to CBC News, a spokesperson for Canadian Heritage said the portrait “will be made available in due course.”
King Charles speaks to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau via videolink during a virtual audience at Buckingham Palace in London on Wednesday, March 6, 2024. (Victoria Jones/Pool via AP Photo)
Royal portraits in Canada are usually different from those distributed in the U.K. and other Commonwealth countries — they’ve been “Canadianized” to make them more relevant to a local audience.
While the Canadian portrait is delayed, the federal government and the Crown corporations it owns have pressed ahead with some other changes to acknowledge the King and the start of his reign.
Loonies bearing the image of King Charles at the Royal Canadian Mint in Winnipeg on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. (John Woods/Canadian Press)
A spokesperson for the Bank of Canada told CBC News the central bank has “started the design process for the new $20 note” as it reworks the current lineup of banknotes, now over a decade old.
The U.K.’s version of the Charles portrait was released by the palace in January.
The $14-million budget for that effort has raised some eyebrows in Britain but the U.K. government has defended the portrait campaign as a reminder “to us all [of] the example set by our ultimate public servant.”
A private members bill introduced by New Brunswick Liberal MP René Arseneault proposes making the traditional oath of allegiance to the reigning monarch optional for MPs and senators.
Charles’s 2022 tour of Canada cost Canadian taxpayers about $1.4 million, according to government data.
During the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the government committed about $2 million to celebrations and community projects.
Finch said it’s important to have royal portraits prominently displayed in government buildings and public places to remind Canadians about the head of state and his role in our constitutional system of government, a system he says has served the country well.
