Meet the first Jewish butcher to give Prince Charles a local Canadian tour

Last week, Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, took a stroll through Ottawa’s Byward Market. They spent the day in the Canadian capital as part of a brief visit to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. And though Charles has been to Canada nearly 20 times before, this was the first time the future King of England had a Jewish butcher as his tour guide.

John Diener’s family has run Saslove’s Meat Market in the historic neighbourhood since 1954, when Charles himself was just a boy prince. Diener’s father worked there before he and his brother stepped in. When organizers from the royal visit mentioned to Diener that Charles wanted to see locals at work, the small-business owner found himself in the unique position of royal tour guide.

Diener joins to explain the planning that goes into an international visit like this, and whether he's even a fan of the monarchy in the first place.

What we talked about:

• Visit saslovesmeat.com for info about their store
• Read "The recent violence in Israel is not a Third Intifada, but it will take determined political attention to prevent it from escalating, says a former UN speechwriter" at thecjn.ca

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