Friday, April 20, 2007

Swearing In Ceremony

Chretien Took The Oath And The Queen Laughed

A former Canadian prime minister has revealed how an inadvertent swear word made the Queen laugh. Jean Chretien was speaking on the 25th anniversary of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Chretien helped draft the Charter as the minister of justice at the time, and signed the document on April 17, 1982, along with then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau and the Queen.
But problems with a fountain pen created a last-minute hurdle and less-than-polite language in front of the monarch.
"What happened is that Trudeau broke the tip of the pen," Chretien told CTV. "He asked me to sign right after him. I started to sign it but there was no ink! It was broken! So I said "merde" and the Queen laughed. "She's bilingual and knew very well what I said."

5 comments:

HB said...

The Queen rocks (but not in the same way the the band, Queen, rocks).

Along with Avril Lavigne, I'd like to get into a punch up with the Queen. I bet she fights like a crazy lady.

Shrink Wrapped Scream said...

Just ask her in-laws!

david mcmahon said...

Hi HB,

I was in London in July 1985 (having covered Wimbledon) when Queen absolutely took that telecast (and a global audience) by storm.

A very very close family friend actually taught Freddie Mercury in boarding school.

I'm tipping Avril would be a tough opponent. The Queen might use her handbag to deadly effect!

Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment.

David

david mcmahon said...

Hi Shrink,

Just ask Chuck himself!

David

david mcmahon said...

G'day Dave,

Thanks for a great historical perspective. I would never have known that distinction. That sort of historical stuff fascinates me.

Thanks for droppping by and taking the trouble to leave a comment.

I'm guessing you're Canadian - well, about 18 months ago I did a photgraphy assignment for the Canadian Tourism Commission. I had the privilege of photographing Quebec City, Montreal and areas of Muskoka. Must start posting some pictures from that trip on my blog.

Watch this space and once again, merci.

David