I am thinking about sending a postcard to the King of Canada. The message would be short and simple. Something like, “I am so sorry you have to put up with all this. Sincerely, an ordinary American.” I have several questions.
1. What is the proper way to address this postcard. I think it would be something like:
Charles, King of Canada
c/o Ms. Louise Arbour
123 Main St.
Ottowa, Ontario, Canada [postal code]
Perhaps some of our Canadianese friends on this board could give me a more formal and proper address.
Are any of you like me and would not want to put your name or address for the return address in fear that you would be put on a government list somewhere?I am pretty sure I’m on a government list somewhere already but I am in a column on the far right of the spreadsheet labeled “other.”
Do you think we could get a movement started to get all of the normal Americans to apologize to Canada?
Should I include the message in French as well as English? If so, what would be a good French translation?
Since this isn’t in Factual Questions, might I suggest that you send your postcard to an actual Canadian leader instead of a legacy from the kind of imperialism that Donald Trump is trying so hard to resurrect?
If you are dead set on sending mail to that old fossil, the Governor General of Canada (the Crown’s official representative in Canada, and who serves as our Head of State when the King/Queen is not in the country) has the correct steps to get in touch on their website:
Messages to the Royal Family
Letters and greetings addressed to His Majesty The King may be sent to the following address:
His Majesty The King
Buckingham Palace
London SW1A 1AA
United Kingdom
The letter should be addressed to His Majesty The King; the salutation of your letter should be “Your Majesty”.
But they might just end up forwarding it back to the Governor General, since it deals with Canadian matters and they might not want to impose themselves on Canadian business affairs out of respect to Canada.
For correspondence relating to issues of Canadian concern (such as immigration, Canadian politics, Royal Assent of bills, etc.), His Majesty defers to the governor general as his representative in Canada. If such letters are received by Buckingham Palace, they will be forwarded to the OSGG.
All enquiries pertaining to the Royal Family, including honorary appointments to Canadian regiments, Royal visits, patronage, pledges of loyalty, or the use of the word “Royal” should be sent to:
Royal Correspondence
Office of the Secretary to the Governor General
1 Sussex Drive
Ottawa ON K1A 0A1
royal@gg.ca
Regardless of political party, the Prime Minister of Canada represents the whole country, and certainly has a much closer interest in it than King Charles. The address is:
The Right Honourable Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2
Improper comma use will also put you on the RCMP watchlist.
However, I think a comma after the city name is considered normal and patriotic. Absence of a comma raises suspicions of possible sedition by American agitators.
I agree that mailing something to Canada’s Head of Government (i.e. the Prime Minister) would yield better results than appealing to the King or GG. The Prime Minister can actually do stuff to address your concerns; neither the King nor the GG can do much, if anything, to address your concerns.
And a comma? Nobody cares; as long as the address is correct and complete, your message will still get where it’s going, comma or not.
I want to apologize to the King not as individual but in his role as sovereign of Canada. That is to say, I want to apologize to all of Canada, not just the government.
So long as the postal code is correct, it can’t possibly matter. K1A 0A2 is unique to 80 Wellington St. I suspect you can put practically anything in the address you like, and so long as it says K1A 0A2 (and Canada if mailed from outside the country) it will be delivered to the PMO.
