Protesters hurled eggs and chanted “Majesty Go Home” as the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall ventured into the French-speaking Canadian province of Quebec.
About 200 separatists scuffled with riot police on Tuesday night as they confronted the royal couple, who were visiting the Montreal headquarters of the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada, which the Prince formally commands. Their arrival at the regimental hall, where the Prince was presenting regimental colours, was delayed by 45 minutes while police cleared a path for the motorcade.
Having entered the hall by a back door, the Prince referred to the clashes outside with a wry smile. “I just want to say how very sorry my wife and I are to have kept you waiting so long,” he said. “I fear there was a little local disturbance.”
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Eggs were thrown at soldiers outside the regimental hall but none hit the royal visitors. The clashes left one man bleeding from the head. At least three demonstrators were arrested and given tickets for blocking traffic.
The demonstration was organised by the Qu?becois Network of Resistance. “The Prince is important as a symbol of power given by the blood,” said Julien Gaudeau, a 21-year-old student, who described himself as the head of the “political bureau” of the militant nationalist group. “We don’t want this kind of symbol in Quebec — more than 80 per cent of the population in Quebec is opposed to the monarchy,” he said.
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A sole pro-Crown campaigner, carrying Scotland’s Lion Rampant flag, challenged the protesters. Suzanne Reny, the daughter of a retired Canadian Air Force pilot, told the separatists in fluent French that they were a disgrace. “If they are going to come here as a gang and say, ‘We represent Quebec’, well, I’m here to say they don’t represent Quebec,” she told the Montreal Gazette.
When the Queen made her first official visit to Quebec in 1964, baton-wielding police battled rioting separatists in Quebec City. The Queen last visited the province in 1992 to mark the 125th anniversary of Canada’s Confederation.
This was the first time that the Prince of Wales had been in Quebec since a brief visit during the 1976 Olympics, in which Princess Anne was competing in the equestrian events.
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His 11-day coast-to-coast visit to Canada with the Duchess concludes today. Their other engagements in Montreal, including a trip to an ecological centre, passed off peacefully.
Jean Charest, the Quebec premier, and his wife gave the royal couple an Inuit sculpture and a collection of Quebec films on DVD. The Prince thanked them in French.
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Yesterday the Prince and the Duchess attended an Armistice Day service at Canada’s National War Memorial in Ottawa.