EMPIRE, PLACE, AND PROGRESS

Empire, Place & PROGRESS

Wo r d s b y R u b i e B a r k e r

ith the death of Queen Elizabeth II W and the announcement that King Charles III’s coronation will take place on 6 May 2023, questions about the future of the monarchy have perhaps naturally arisen. One of the oldest monarchies in the world but with a complicated history of empire, colonisation and commonwealth there is a prevalent discourse about the role that the British monarchy has in the modern world, not just within the United Kingdom but across the globe. For those 14 countries that still have the British monarch as their head of state, officials in at least six countries in the Caribbean have stated an intention to become a republic. In November 2021, Barbados removed Queen Elizabeth as their head of state in a ceremony attended by the then Prince of Wales, Charles, 55 years after they gained independence from Britain. This move raised questions about whether other countries in the Caribbean region could follow suit and upon the death of the Queen, the question has become once again more relevant. It is worth noting that not every country within the Commonwealth has King Charles as the head of state, only those which are commonwealth realms. Earlier this year, as members of the British royal family toured various countries in the Caribbean, protests were held at the ongoing presence of the British monarchy in the region. In March of this year, 100 people in Jamaica released an open letter accusing the Queen of doing ‘nothing to redress and atone for the suffering of [their] ancestors that took place during her reign’, a sign that some in Jamaica wanted a break away from the British monarchy. Klandine Thomas wrote in the Jamaica Observer last month upon the death of the Queen that ‘To a plethora of Jamaicans The Queen symbolised the horrific role the British monarchy played in institutionalising slavery in Jamaica.’ For some in Jamaica at least there is the feeling

that the death of the Queen is the right time to cut all ties with the British monarchy and establish a republic. Recent discussion around the return of the Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, with the British Museum seemingly refusing to follow the restorative examples of other Museums worldwide, highlights some of the failures in British discourse to come to terms with our colonial past and the negative impact that the empire had on so many lives. The statues were looted back in 1897 by British troops who invaded Benin City in the former kingdom of Benin, now a part of modern-day Nigeria. Many of the statues are making their way back to Nigeria but the refusal of the British Museum to return theirs, re ects a hesitance in Britain to face a darker side of our history. Whether or not those Caribbean countries leave the commonwealth realm, it is certainly true that the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the new reign of King Charles III will mark a renewed discussion about the past, present and future of the British Monarchy and its impact across the world. For now, only time will tell, but whether it is as head of state or to hand over control, we are sure to see the new King Charles keen to make his presence felt across the Commonwealth.

D e s i g n b y I s l a M c C o r m a c k