Queen

In photos: U of T commemorates Queen Elizabeth II’s life of service with ceremony at Soldiers’ Tower

mattimar — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 19:09:19 +0000

In photos: U of T commemorates Queen Elizabeth II’s life of service with ceremony at Soldiers’ Tower

mattimar Mon, 09/19/2022 - 15:09

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Students from the Faculty of Music perform at a U of T ceremony commemorating the life of Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 19, 2022 (photo by Johnny Guatto)

Mariam Matti

Topic

Global Lens

Soldiers' Tower

Cheryl Regehr

Faculty of Music

Meric Gertler

Queen

The University of Toronto commemorated the life and service of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the day of her funeral with a ceremony at Soldiers’ Tower on the St. George campus.

The ceremony was attended by President Meric Gertler, Vice-President and Provost Cheryl Regehr and members of the U of T community.

At approximately 12:45 p.m. on Monday, bagpiper Rory Sinclair began the ceremony by performing Mist Covered Mountains while standing in front of a small stage flanked by two yellow and white wreaths.

(Photo by Johnny Guatto)

In his remarks, President Gertler acknowledged the Queen’s selfless devotion to duty, commitment to young people and said she was a vital source of solidarity and continuity.

“Her example will stand as an inspiration to many, and for generations to come,” he said. “This is already evident in the global outpouring of grief and gratitude that we have seen in recent days.”

“The virtues she personified have earned her tremendous loyalty, respect and affection among people of all ages around the world.”

(Photo by Johnny Guatto)

Earlier in the day, the Royal family gathered in London alongside prime ministers, presidents and dignitaries, to say a final goodbye to Britain’s longest-reigning monarch in a service attended by more than 2,000 people – and watched by millions across the country and around the world. The Queen died on Sept. 8 at the age of 96.

At the end of the Westminster Abbey ceremony, two minutes of silence was observed across Britain. The Queen’s coffin then travelled to Windsor Castle. She was buried alongside her husband, Prince Philip, her parents and the ashes of her sister, Princess Margaret, in the King George VI Memorial Chapel.

At U of T, students from the Faculty of Music performed songs composed by British artists following President Gertler’s remarks.

(Photo by Johnny Guatto)

“We had two kinds of groups,” said conductor Michael Denomme. “There was a string duo, which was violin and cello. Then we had our vocal octet, which was made up of undergraduate and graduate students, majoring in voice studies at the Faculty of Music.”

(Photo by Johnny Guatto)

Denomme, who is completing his master’s in choral conducting at the Faculty of Music, said it was a “true honour” to participate in the ceremony.

“There aren’t many funerals for royalty, especially for someone who had been so imperative in the development of our country through the last hundred years,” he said. “I wanted to make sure that we did the pieces justice.”

(Photo by Johnny Guatto)

At 1 p.m., 96 seconds of silence was observed to signify the Queen’s age. The students from the Faculty of Music then performed O Canada.

(Photo by Johnny Guatto)

Roy Lee, a U of T carillonist, played God Save the King on the 51-bell carillon housed in Soldiers’ Tower before ringing the four-ton bourdon – the largest of the carillon’s bells – 70 times to reflect each year of the Queen’s reign.

“It’s always an honour to play for official university events,” said Lee.

(Photo by Johnny Guatto)

The tribute ended with the president and provost being escorted to Soldiers’ Tower Memorial Wall by Special Constable Jason Quan and Staff Sergeant Albert Hastings – both of U of T Campus Safety. There, they laid wreaths.

Soldiers’ Tower carillon played in remembrance of Queen Elizabeth II

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 21:40:08 +0000

Soldiers’ Tower carillon played in remembrance of Queen Elizabeth II Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 09/09/2022 - 17:40

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The carillon bells on the University of Toronto’s St. George campus sounded in solemn remembrance of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at noon on Friday.

First, Roy Lee, a U of T carillonist, and his former students and certified carillonists Elisa Tersigni and Naoko Tsujita, all U of T alumni, rang the four-ton bourdon – the largest bell of the 51-bell carillon housed in Soldiers’ Tower – 96 times to signify the Queen’s age when she passed away at Balmoral Castle in Scotland one day earlier.

Following the tolling of the bourdon, Lee, who has been a U of T carillonist for 20 years, played the royal anthem and O Canada as roughly 100 people gathered outside Soldiers’ Tower to listen.

The anthems were arranged for carillon by Gordon Slater, former Dominion Carillonneur of Canada.

Lee said the fact the carillon is housed in the Soldiers’ Tower – which commemorates U of T community members who served in the World Wars – added special poignancy to the tribute.

“As a teenager during the Second World War, Elizabeth was an active-duty member of the same allied forces that included U of T alumni, students, faculty, librarians and staff – some of whose names are inscribed in the walls at the base of the tower,” said Lee. “Their sacrifice and service to others set an example to all of us: the torch is now ours to hold high.”

The performance also held special significance for Lee personally.

“As someone who immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong as a young child, Queen Elizabeth II was, for my family, a visible symbol of the shared Commonwealth ties that made the transition a bit easier.”

U of T mourns the death of Queen Elizabeth II, lowers flags to half-mast

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 08 Sep 2022 23:35:48 +0000

U of T mourns the death of Queen Elizabeth II, lowers flags to half-mast

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 09/08/2022 - 19:35

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Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who died at the age of 96, was the longest-serving monarch in British history (photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images)

Rahul Kalvapalle

Topic

Global Lens

Princess Margaret Cancer Centre

Sinai Health

Faculty of Arts & Science

Massey College

Meric Gertler

Mount Sinai Hospital

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Queen

Royalty

St. George

Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library

U of T Libraries

U of T Mississauga

U of T Scarborough

The University of Toronto is mourning the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch in British history, who visited the university on numerous occasions.

Flags on all three U of T campuses are being lowered to half-mast in memory of the Queen, who died Thursday at Balmoral Castle in Scotland at the age of 96. They will remain at half-mast until the day of her state funeral.

The university will also mark the event by having carillonists play the bells in Soldiers’ Tower on Friday at noon, tolling the largest bell once for each year of the Queen’s age at the time of her passing. The royal anthem and O Canada will also be played.

U of T President Meric Gertler said the U of T community joins all Canadians in mourning the loss of the sovereign, noting that, before acceding to the throne, she promised to devote her life to the service of her people.

“She fulfilled that promise with unparalleled grace and dignity, and in so doing set a magnificent example for us all,” President Gertler said in a statement. “Her unfailing devotion to duty has been a constant source of strength and continuity for generations of Canadians as well as countless others around the world.

“Indeed, it is difficult to imagine a world without her.”

Flags fly at half mast at, from left to right, U of T Mississauga, St. George and U of T Scarborough to mark the Queen’s death on Sept. 8, 2022 (photos by Nick Iwanyshyn, Johnny Guatto and Raquel Russell)

He also highlighted the Queen’s contributions to international peace and solidarity through the Commonwealth and noted the U of T community has been enriched by the contributions of students, faculty, librarians, staff and alumni who arrived from or live in fellow Commonwealth countries.

“In tribute to Her Majesty, in this time of sadness and in the years to come, let us remember and learn from her life of dedicated and extraordinarily generous service to others, and give thanks for a life very well lived.”

Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh are greeted at Hart House by U of T Chancellor Vincent Massey (Walter F. Mackenzie/University of Toronto Archives)

The Queen’s passing comes 14 months after her husband Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, died aged 99.

Princess Elizabeth visits Hart House with U of T Chancellor Vincent Massey on Oct.13, 1951 (Walter F. Mackenzie/University of Toronto Archives)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that it is with the “heaviest of hearts” that Canadians learned of the passing of the country’s longest-reigning sovereign.

“For most Canadians, we have known no other Sovereign. Queen Elizabeth II was a constant presence in our lives. Time and again, Her Majesty marked Canada’s modern history,” he said in a statement.

Born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary on April 21, 1926, Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the crown in 1952 at age 25. She went on to become the longest-reigning monarch in British history, marking her Platinum Jubilee this past February.

She is to be succeeded as monarch by her eldest son Charles, Prince of Wales – now King Charles III.

David Onley, former lieutenant governor of Ontario and a senior lecturer in the department of political science at U of T Scarborough, said he has warm recollections of meeting the Queen at Buckingham Palace in 2008.

“The experience my wife and I had was quite amazing to us in that the conversation was not superficial. The Queen really engaged in our conversation,” Onley said.

He added that the Queen took great interest in the results of Canada’s federal election, which had taken place the night before. “I was really quite amazed as to how well-briefed she was. She wanted to know about Stephen Harper, she wanted to know about why the Liberals had lost so badly on that occasion – so it wasn’t just a superficial chit-chat.

“At the same time, I would say that she interacted with everybody like that – and that was one of the fundamental reasons for her passing being felt by so many people. Because everybody has stories – if you met the Queen, you had a story – and that was because of her degree of engagement.”

Onley said the Queen’s impeccable reputation during her seven-decade reign – he noted that her first prime minister was Winston Churchill and her last, the recently elected Elizabeth Truss; and that she had met all but one of the U.S. presidents since the Second World War – was testament to her complete devotion to the role.

“This is a particular accomplishment, and you would not have that kind of reputation if you were just effectively mailing in the responsibilities,” Onley said. “She saw it as a lifetime of service and executed that service right to the very end.”

He added that the frequency and range of the Queen’s visits to Ontario and Canada “give you the sense of the degree of interest that she had in this province, and other provinces as well.”

Queen Elizabeth II attends the Festival of Ontario at the CNE in 2002, making a stop in front of the U of T Blue Sky Solar Racing Team’s display (photo via Flickr)

Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh visited Toronto seven times, with their first visit taking place in 1951, four months before the Queen’s coronation. On that occasion, the royal couple were driven to the steps of Hart House, where they waved to cheering crowds and posed for photos.

In 1973, the Queen returned to Toronto and laid the cornerstone for the new Mount Sinai Hospital, part of Sinai Health and one of U of T’s partner hospitals. The hospital is located next to Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, named in honour of the Queen’s sister.

In 2002, the royal couple visited Toronto again during the Queen’s Golden Jubilee, which coincided with U of T’s 175^th anniversary. During the celebrations, the Queen visited a U of T display where she spoke with undergraduate students from the Blue Sky Solar Racing team who were present with their solar-powered car.

“I recall that the Queen had such a presence,” said Nicolle Wahl, director of content in U of T Mississauga’s Office of Communications, who was present at the U of T display. “[She was] very warm and curious – and it was wonderful to see how excited the students were to meet her.”

A letter written by Princess Elizabeth to U of T Chancellor Vincent Massey dated Feb. 17, 1952 (photo by Larysa Woloszansky)

The Queen’s 22^ndand final tour of Canada took place in 2010 and included a visit to Queen’s Park – named in honour of her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria and located amid U of T’s St. George campus – where she presented Ontario Medals for Good Citizenship and waved to thousands of cheering well-wishers.

The Queen’s impact on U of T did not end with her last visit to Toronto, however. In 2017, Massey College announced that the Queen agreed to designate the college’s St. Catherine’s Chapel as the third Chapel Royal in Canada, which made it the first interdenominational Chapel Royal in the country.The request for the designation was made by John Fraser, then the master of Massey College, with the support of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation. It was inspired in part by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action.

U of T’s Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library has one of 25 souvenir Bibles created to mark the Queen’s coronation in 1953 (photo by Johnny Guatto)

The Queen’s ties with Massey College can be traced back to her close relationship with the college’s founder Vincent Massey, who was Canada’s 18^th Governor General and a U of T chancellor from 1947 to 1953.

Letters written by the Queen to Massey – and preserved at U of T’s Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library – speak to a warm personal rapport.

In one letter dated February 1952, the Queen responded to a letter of condolence sent to her by Massey upon the passing of her father, King George VI. In her letter, the Queen expresses her gratitude for Massey’s condolences and notes that her father was in much better condition when Massey had last met him, but had then taken a turn for the worse. The Queen also states her regret at the fact that she was on a tour in Africa when her father died and was saddened by not being able to be home to comfort and console her mother and sister.

Another letter written from Balmoral Castle – where the Queen would eventually take her last breath – thanked Massey for being a great governor general. In another letter to Massey, written from Buckingham Palace in 1957, the Queen recounts her visit to the United States.

A letter written by Queen Elizabeth II to Vincent Massey on the occasion of his retirement as governor general of Canada (photo by Johnny Guatto)

The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library is also in possession of one of 25 souvenir Bibles created to mark the Queen’s coronation in 1953. Bible #1 was used for the coronation ceremony – the Queen gifted Bible #17 to Massey.

Randall Hansen, professor in the department of political science in the Faculty of Arts & Science and the director of the global migration lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, said the Queen’s many accomplishments include overseeing a modernization of the monarchy – noting as examples her decision to agree to pay income tax and the landmark wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

“Leaving aside how it all ended, the marriage of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry was a moment of a highly modern monarchy – an inter-racial marriage and a Black Baptist American minister who oversaw the service.”

He added that the Queen’s son and heir to the throne will benefit from the prestige of the monarchy and the Queen’s impact on the institution.

“It is the institution of the Crown, it is the institution of the monarchy that bestows the prestige … that institution will bequeath on him the full prestige of the monarchy,” Hansen said. “I suspect that he’s going to be quite a successful King.”

Hansen said it was remarkable that Queen Elizabeth II, over the course of an extraordinarily long reign, was not embroiled in a scandal of any significance.

“The Queen somehow managed to be above all of that, decade after decade after decade.”

Prince Philip rumours go viral: U of T expert talks about centuries of royal gossip

Romi Levine — Thu, 04 May 2017 18:36:20 +0000

Prince Philip rumours go viral: U of T expert talks about centuries of royal gossip

Romi Levine Thu, 05/04/2017 - 14:36

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Internet rumours of Prince Philip's death were proven to be untrue. The palace announced the prince will be retiring in the fall (photo by Defence Images via Flickr)

Romi Levine

Author legacy

Romi Levine

Topic

Global Lens

Royalty

Global

School of Continuing Studies

Queen

Late last night, the Internet went berserk with rumours that 95-year-old Prince Philip – Queen Elizabeth II’s husband – had passed away. A palace announcement made this morning proved the story false, stating instead that the prince would be stepping down from royal duties this fall.

How did the Internet get it so wrong? British publications including the The Sun had kicked off the Internet frenzy by posting an article announcing his death after an emergency meeting was called at Buckingham Palace.

U of T News spoke with Carolyn Harris, a royals expert who teaches history at U of T's School of Continuing Studies and author of Raising Royalty, 1000 Years of Royal Parenting, about the public's fascination with the royals and recent pop culture interest in the Queen and Prince Philip.

What do you make of the false rumours? How does this kind of fake news spread so fast?

We've seen this happen before around New Year's when the Queen had a severe cold. There was rampant speculation about the Queen's health until she once again appeared in public. The fact that the Queen and Prince Philip are in their 90s means when anything out of the ordinary happens, whether it's the Queen not appearing in public for a time or an emergency meeting called at the palace, the public tends to assume the worst.

The more benign speculation that happened on the Internet was that simply the Queen's schedule would be changing as Buckingham Palace is due to have renovations – there was speculation the Queen would be spending more time at Windsor and Balmoral.

So the speculation was the full range from the concern about the health of the Queen and Prince Philip all the way to wondering if it was simply a change to the Queen's primary residence.

Does the Internet seem to fan the flames of this kind of speculation?

Certainly the Internet allows speculation and rumour to spread faster. There has always been a fascination with what's going on behind closed doors in the royal household, even if we look back at the 16th and 17th centuries – specifically the 1660s and the diarist Samuel Pepys who used to write about any gossip he heard about King Charles II and his court.

And then in the 19th century when Queen Victoria went into comparative seclusion after the death of Prince Albert in 1861 and was spending a lot of time in the Highlands in the company of her personal servant John Brown, people simply speculated about what goes on behind palace doors.

I think there's always been a strong interest in what's discussed at meetings that aren't open to the public, but the Internet has allowed rumour and speculation to spread a lot more quickly, where it used to be that rumours in the past spread in person or through handwritten letters.

What can you tell us about Prince Philip, who has always been an interesting – and divisive – character, known for his often off-colour gaffes?

Compared to the Queen who is always very careful to remain above politics and not say anything controversial, Prince Philip has been known to speak very frankly.

His gaffes caused more controversy when he was younger. Now that he's in his 90s, for people for whom it's their first time at a Buckingham Palace reception or garden party, they find his sense of humour puts them at ease. There's a sense that he is able to break the tension that can happen when people are nervous about meeting members of the royal family.

It's interesting how we see members of the royal family – sometimes setting the tone or informing cultural trends for the rest of society. When Queen Victoria chose to have a white wedding dress, suddenly everyone wanted a white wedding dress, and they still do. Now with the Queen and Prince Philip, at a time when life expectancies are getting longer, they're demonstrating how active people can remain into their 90s.

The Queen and Prince Philip have re-emerged in the realm of pop culture with the television show The Crown. Do you think that has led to more interest in the present-day royal family?

It definitely fuels a lot of interest in the Queen and Prince Philip.

In the TV series, we see the Queen moving into Buckingham Palace at the age of 25, and the audience knows that at 91, she's still there. And the Queen and Prince Philip will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary this November. So there's the sense that the Queen has presided over a time period of tremendous social, cultural and political change.

The one thing that stands out in The Crown is it emphasizes what a different world it was in 1952 – that having television cameras at Westminster Abbey for the coronation was a new and innovative decision – and you see telephone switchboard operators listening in on conversations. The Crown very much plays up how different society, culture and technology were in the 1950s, compared to today.