LONDON (AP) – After seven decades on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II is widely regarded in the UK as a rock in turbulent times. But in the former British colonies, many see it as an anchor to an imperial past whose damage still remains.
So while the UK is celebrating the Queen’s platinum jubilee – 70 years on the throne – with processions and parties, some in the British community are using the occasion to push for an official break with the monarchy and the colonial history it represents.
“When I think of the queen, I think of a sweet old lady,” said Jamaican academic Rosalie Hamilton, who is fighting for her country to become a republic. “It’s not about her. It is about the wealth of her family, built on the backs of our ancestors. We are struggling with the legacy of the past, which has been very painful. “
The empire in which Elizabeth was born is long gone, but it still reigns far beyond the British coast. She is head of state in 14 other countries, including Canada, Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Bahamas. Until recently, it was 15 – Barbados severed ties with the monarchy in November, and several other Caribbean countries, including Jamaica, say they plan to follow suit.
The British Jubilee celebrations, culminating in a four-day holiday weekend beginning on Thursday, aim to recognize the diversity of the United Kingdom and the British Commonwealth. A huge jubilee competition in central London on Sunday will include Caribbean Carnival performers and Bollywood dancers.
But Britain’s view of itself as a friendly and diverse society has been shattered by the revelation that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Caribbean people who have lived legally in the UK for decades have been deprived of housing, work or medical care. treatment – and in some cases deportees – because they did not have documents to prove their status.
The British government apologized and agreed to pay compensation, but the Windrush scandal sparked deep anger in both the UK and the Caribbean.
The anniversary trip to Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas in March for the Queen’s grandson Prince William and his wife Kate, which aimed to strengthen ties, seems to have the opposite effect. The images of the couple shaking hands with children over a chain-link fence and riding in an open-roofed Land Rover in a military parade have echoed colonialism for many.
Cynthia Barrow-Giles, a professor of political science at the University of the West Indies, said the British “seem very blind to the internal reactions” that royal visits are provoking in the Caribbean.
Protesters in Jamaica have demanded that Britain pay reparations for slavery, and Prime Minister Andrew Holnes politely told William that the country was “moving forward”, a signal that it planned to become a republic. The following month, the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Brown, told the Queen’s son, Prince Edward, that his country would also one day remove the Queen as head of state.
William acknowledged the power of feeling and said the future was “for people to decide.”
“We proudly support and respect your decisions about your future,” he told the Bahamas. “Relationships are evolving. The friendship lasts. “
United Kingdom officials hope the countries that are becoming republics will remain in the British Commonwealth, an organization of 54 countries made up mainly of former British colonies whose ceremonial head is the Queen.
The Queen’s strong personal commitment to the British Commonwealth has played a major role in uniting a diverse group whose members range from vast India to small Tuvalu. But the organization, which aims to defend democracy, good governance and human rights, faces an uncertain future.
As British government leaders prepare to meet in Kigali, Rwanda, this month for a summit postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, some are wondering if the organization can continue after the Queen’s eldest son, Prince Charles, I inherited.
“Many of the more embarrassing stories of the British Empire and the British community as a whole are waiting in their wings as soon as Elizabeth II leaves,” said royal historian Ed Owens. “So this is a difficult legacy that she passes on to the next generation.
The crisis in the British Commonwealth reflects Britain’s declining global influence.
Zimbabwe was expelled from the British community under the authoritarian late President Robert Mugabe and is currently seeking readmission. But many in the capital, Harare, have expressed indifference to the Queen’s anniversary, as Britain’s once strong influence has waned and countries such as China and Russia have enjoyed closer ties with the former British colony.
“It doesn’t matter here,” said social activist Peter Nyapedva. “We know about (Chinese President) Xi (Jinping) or (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, not the Queen.
Sue Onslow, director of the British Community Research Institute at the University of London, said the Queen was the “invisible glue” that holds the British Community together.
But she says the organization has proved surprisingly resilient and should not be written off. The British community played a key role in stimulating opposition to apartheid in the 1980s and can do the same with regard to climate change, which poses an existential threat to its low-lying island members.
“The Commonwealth reflects global trends,” Onslow said. “So, if you think about the creeping authoritarianism that has taken place in countries outside the British Commonwealth … this is also happening in the countries of the British Commonwealth. Progress towards greater democracy and good governance is definitely under pressure and regressing. “
But she said the British community has also shown resilience.
“The Commonwealth has shown remarkable ability to rediscover and come up with solutions in times of crisis, almost like jumping into a telephone box and coming out under a different mask,” she said. Whether he will do so now is an open question.
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Alex Turnbull in Paris and Andrew Meldrum in Johannesburg contributed to this report.
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