The new “Canadian Royal Crown” adorning the country’s Coat of Arms features a snowflake and maple leaves, replacing the traditional crosses and fleur-de-lis.
The federal government unveiled the new design on the weekend to mark the coronation of King Charles III.
His Majesty has adopted the Tudor Crown as his insignia, rather than the St. Edward’s Crown used by his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II. The King did, however, wear the St. Edward’s Crown for his coronation, as the physical Tudor Crown was destroyed in 1649.
King Charles III’s change of crown for his insignia gave the Trudeau government an opportunity to introduce a Canadian Royal Crown free of religious Christian symbols.
The Governor General’s website describes the new crown as “an important symbol of the sovereign’s authority, the Canadian monarchy, and the power of the state acting in the sovereign’s name.”
The snowflake is “a reference to Canada being a northern realm” and makes “a direct connection with the insignia of the Order of Canada.” The maple leaves are “a quintessential Canadian symbol used extensively since the 19th century to represent Canada and all its citizens.”
The “Canadian Royal Crown” does not feature jewels. Instead, it has a wavy blue band meant to symbolize bodies of water and emphasize Indigenous themes.
“This blue band, and the water it represents, emphasize the importance of the environment to Canadians, as well as Indigenous teachings that water is the lifeblood of the land.”
The St. Edward’s Crown has adorned the Royal Coat of Arms of Canada since 1957, and is seen on police and military badges as well as various emblems of sovereignty. The government says St. Edward’s Crowns won’t be replaced right away.
“Changes to symbols of sovereignty such as the Arms of Canada and to official insignia will likely take place over the coming years; however, this will be a gradual process, and existing versions of the emblems will remain valid and in use until they require replacement.”
The government also says, “there is no requirement that depictions of existing emblems be changed. However, organizations with such emblems may choose to incorporate the new design when commissioning a revised rendition of the emblem.”
In an email to True North, Monarchist League of Canada dominion chairman Robert Finch said that while his organization feels like the changes to the crown are good, the process in which the latter was done was less than desirable.
“When it comes to the re-designed Crown and the King’s Canadian flag, one must say that the process was not ideal,” Finch said. “Consultations with (the) public and Parliament might well have moderated if not erased the nasty nonsense circulating as to the government’s attempting to ‘destroy our Christian heritage’ and similar such language.”
Author and historian Christopher McCreery had more harsh criticism about the new crown, telling the National Post’s John Ivison that the redesign “is totally unconnected to the King or the coronation.”
“It means the unity of the symbol of the Royal Crown that represents the sovereign throughout the realms will be broken, further distancing the King and the monarchy as an institution.”
The Royal Canadian Crown has also received criticism from Canadians on social media.
The new crown was designed by Canadian Heraldic Authority principal artist Cathy Bursey-Sabourin at the request of the Canadian government. It was approved by King Charles III on the advice of Prime Minister Trudeau in April.
Previous changes to Canada’s emblems included switching the crown from the Tudor to the St. Edward’s in 1957 following the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The Jean Chrétien Liberals then added the Latin inscription “Desiderantes Meliorem Patriam” (Desiring a better country) to Canada’s Coat of Arms in 1995.
In addition to adopting a new crown, the Canadian government has unveiled a new Royal Flag and announced that King Charles III will replace the late Queen Elizabeth II on the $20 dollar bill and the back of coins.
