A Canadian government decree that the Queen’s portrait be displayed in all embassies and missions abroad has triggered an angry response from a former diplomat and an opposition lawmaker.

“This decision is retrograde and anachronistic,” said Paul Heinbecker, Canada’s erstwhile ambassador to the UN. “After 60 years of emancipation, this is a step back for our country,” he added.

On Wednesday, Foreign Minister John Baird’s office confirmed that all of its diplomatic missions had been told to raise a portrait of the Queen, given that she is Canada’s head of state. The move was largely seen as a sign of ever better ties with Britain after the success of Prince William and his wife Catherine’s first official overseas trip which saw them feted by the Canadian public in late June and early July.

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