Canadian Crown Jewels

                                    

On August 29th, 2008, Her Majesty The Queen approved the creation of the Sacrifice Medal, which will be awarded to those-- being military personnel, members of allied forces, or Canadian civilians working under the authority of the Canadian Forces-- who suffered wounds or death caused by hostile action, on or after October 7th, 2001. The creation of the new medal, its terms of award, and even its name, became as instantly controversial as those of all other new official honours in Canada, but I do not intend to discuss these issues, which arguably most concern those servicemen, &c., or their survivors, who may or may not receive the medal.

While looking through the information available to the public about the Sacrifice Medal, which has

now been struck and will soon be presented to its first recipients, I came across a large-scale artistic representation of the award, which I reproduce below. The obverse is officially described as "a contemporary effigy of Her Majesty the Queen of Canada, facing right, wearing a Canadian diadem composed alternately of maple leaves and snow flakes, and circumscribed with the inscriptions “ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA” and “CANADA”, separated by small maple leaves."

Fortunately or unfortunately, this odd-looking new Canadian diadem has, like the Crown of the late German Empire, a purely heraldic existence. Personally, I would like to see such a piece of specifically Canadian Crown Jewelry made for

wear by our Sovereign, her lawful heirs and successors. The permanent value of precious metals and of gems would, considered from a merely financial point of view, suggest that this would be a reasonable national investment. At

the top of the new medal, and at the head of this note, there may be seen the heraldic stylization

of St Edward's Crown, which presently serves as the symbolic Crown of Canada-- but the original

of which is, of course, the property of the United Kingdom. At present the only objects approaching the status of Canadian Crown Jewelry are the Sovereign's Badges of the Orders of Canada and

of the Order of Military Merit.

For the benefit of those few who, as do I, enjoy gazing at such things, I have attached full-size artistic representations of the new Sacrifice Medal, which was both designed and drawn by Bruce W. Beatty, of Rideau Hall's Chancellery of Honours. The reverse of the award is a representation of

the statue named “Canada” that forms part of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France,

facing right and overlooking the horizon, with the inscription “SACRIFICE” appearing in the lower

right half of the medal.

                   Obverse of the Sacrifice Medal

I also attach full-sized photographs of the jewelled Sovereign's Badges of the Canadian Orders, both

of which were also designed by Bruce W. Beatty. The Sovereign's Badge of the Order of Military

Merit, with a change of ribbon, also does duty

as Sovereign's Badge of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces: a typically Canadian frugality.

The Sovereign's Badge of the Order Canada

The Sovereign's Badge of the Order of Military Merit

Both of these Badges, the property of the Queen

in Right of Canada, are kept by Her Majesty with her other personal jewelry, and are displayed only on her person; they are therefore rarely seen at close range by the average Canadian. An actual Crown of Canada, on the other hand, might be

put on public display when not in use; I imagine

that if there were a small fee to view it-- if only to grumble-- as there is for the British Crown Jewels, the crown would soon pay for itself.

Her Majesty The Queen, wearing the Sovereign's Badges of the Order of Canada and of the Order of Military Merit; the other jewelry she wears in this official photograph is her personal property.

by Brian de Fitz-James; 29, September, 2008