Queen Elizabeth likely to watch Will and Kate’s Canadian tour closer than anyone

Six decades into her reign as Canada's monarch, Queen Elizabeth has taken on a new unofficial title: personal branding expert.

The royal protégés, of course, are William and Kate and next month the newlyweds will land in Ottawa to help promote Buckingham Palace.

The Queen is presumed to play a detailed role in the packaging of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The main goal, naturally, is to have the British throne outlive her.

But while the itinerary for the visit will draw attention to the virtues of the country in the week of Canada Day — from Summerside, P.E.I., to Yellowknife, to the Calgary Stampede — some dissent has already sunk in.

A militant separatist group, the Reseau de resistance du Quebecois, announced its intention to make the royal stops in La Belle Province "as disagreeable as possible."

The fact the federal government is footing the bill for the visit, at a cost estimated at under $2 million, also emerged as a point of contention. Yet, the amount would be about $600,000 less than the November 2009 expenditure on William's father and stepmother.

Sparse crowds and cynical coverage characterized that visit from the aging heir to the throne and his second wife.

When there wasn't a longing for Princess Diana, who was met with adoration on a visit to Canada two years after her wedding, it was concluded enthusiasm might be rejuvenated by Prince William.

The Queen reportedly took notice, and kept tabs on how William was received during a visit to Australia in January 2010, where his personal charisma might have tilted a few republicans to join the 58 per cent of the country who want him to become their next king.

A similar consensus is unlikely to be reached in Quebec City. But maybe it's worth a try.

So, as she approaches her Diamond Jubilee in 2012, it would seem that Elizabeth's goal is to finish reversing the course that led her to proclaim an "annus horribilis" 20 years earlier, following the public marriage breakdowns of three of her four children.

And what self-respecting prince doesn't want to make his grandmother proud?

(AFP Photo)