The passing of the British Queen Elizabeth, predictably brought forward varied responses from the public. It was interesting for me to witness the immense grief and despair that emanated from large sections of the formerly colonized. It just seemed very idle to me, but I do understand the exceptional public relations job that the monarchy has done in painting Elizabeth as an agreeable grandma figure, rather than the colonial legacy she presided over.
The death of Elizabeth, saw many angrily defending the monarchy, stating that now is not the time to be talking about its past and current harms. This was a great case study of how a strong enough public relations team, can often result in the larger public embracing whatever new washed image they put forward. People are of course welcome to mourn if it is that they care, but is harmful for those mourning to expect others to mourn along with them and simply forget the truth of what she represented. This is the perfect time to talk about the history of the monarchy and the ways in which they need to limit their power and atone for their harmful legacy. It is abusive to expect formerly colonized people, people that are still living with its impacts, to mourn the death of its instigators. Buying into this belief that we must not speak ill of the dead regardless of their harmful actions and legacy is a dangerous practice. This practice constantly sees us reframing active enablers of racism, genocide, theft and economic suppression against minoritized groups as merely being a slip of their hand.
It is a disingenuous and dangerous position to have. Elizabeth was not an innocent bystander or someone who simply inherited the sins of their father, she was an active contributor towards the monarchy’s long history of suppression of its “subjects.” We like to reframe colonialism and the role of the monarchy in spearheading it as being the distant past but it is not. Elizabeth would have played a role in trying to stop many colonized nations from gaining independence, including Guyana. She was queen longer than any African and many Caribbean countries have been independent, one does not come out of such a legacy with their hands clean. She utlized her privilege to ensure the retaining of stolen items that represent the largest and most valuable collection of art and artifacts on the planet. Her empire saw 1.5 million Kenyans being confined “to a network of detention camps and heavily patrolled villages,” using “systematic violence and high-level cover-ups.” A lot of the atrocities committed under this empire is not even known, largely because there was a very intentional process of destroying evidence of their crimes across developing nations. Even if Elizabeth was an innocent bystander throughout her life – which she wasn’t – her long presence as queen provided her with ample time to atone for the sins of her family’s legacy of bloodshed. Instead however, what was chosen, was active silence and the audacity to continue living off of the riches that were stolen from the countries the monarchy plundered.
Unfortunately, Elizabeth’s death is but a blip in the life of the British monarchy. The ascendance of Charles to the throne demonstrates the way it seamlessly maintains its stronghold. People will often state that we should not be against the monarchy because it is largely ceremonial and has no power. However, it would be a simplistic mistake to ignore the role the monarchy continues to play in the realm of foreign policy. This was aptly articulated by political scientist, Joseph S. Nye who stated that soft power, or the power of attraction, is an important foreign policy tool. While their powers are limited, this limited power matters. The power and influence that they wield in public and behind closed doors is not insignificant, and has shaped the trajectory of British policies and interventions across developing countries long after their office became ceremonial. This needs to stop. It is high time for the British monarchy to be dismantled and reparations provided expeditiously to formerly colonised countries. Its maintenance is highly unnecessary and disrespectful, as to this day, it refuses to acknowledge and apologize for the wrongs that have been committed against minoritized populations around the world. The active rewashing of the monarchy’s crimes must be placed to bed.
