2023-05-09 03:04:09
In the run-up to her coronation in 1953, Elizabeth II received 750 guests at Westminster Hall for a Commonwealth gala banquet, thus following the example of his father George VI. For the late monarch, the commonwealth of 56 nations with historical ties to the United Kingdom always had a special role. “It spans the entire world so there are always homes ready to welcome us on every continent on earth,” she said as she was still a princess on her 21st birthday. At that time she was visiting South Africa and in front of a BBC microphone she made a promise that would later become the axis of her reign: “Before you I declare that my whole life, be it short or long, will be dedicated to your service. and at the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.”
Carlos III, however, has broken with tradition. The day before his coronation there was no gala dinner with the representatives of this association. “What was appropriate then is not necessarily appropriate now”, notes the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, stressing that its membership has “changed enormously since 1953.” Indeed, Elizabeth II became head of state in 32 of those nations. But at the time of his death last September, I was only 14.
More and more countries who want to cut their link with the British Crown, thus freeing itself from an empire that left the mark of slavery. At Buckingham Palace, the process of change has been accepted. Hence, Carlos III wants to focus now on more “domestic” issues.
Not even the idyllic couple of William and Kate managed to bring out some shine. His 2022 tour of Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas was a total failure. The use of the same Jeep in which Elizabeth II rode in 1960 for a military parade, instead of nostalgia, left a most archaic image. And in the age of “Black Lives Matter”the greeting to children in Trench Town, Kingston, through a chain link fence was anything but appropriate.
The last Commonwealth country to cut its ties to the Crown has been Barbados than in 2021 it became the youngest republic in the world. The transition in any case was most friendly. Carlos himself, then heir to the throne, was a special guest and delivered one of the most important speeches. “Since the darkest days of our past and the appalling atrocity of slavery, forever staining our history, the people of this island forged their way with extraordinary strength. Emancipation, self-government and independence were his points of reference, ”he clarified.
It was the furthest that Buckingham Palace has gone to talk about its link to slavery, one of the great issues that is now being analyzed in detail coinciding with his coronation. At the moment, there is still no formal apology, something that critics do not forgive. But expressions of “regret” and acknowledgment of “horror” go some way to marking a change of course for an institution in transition with a mission to represent an increasingly multicultural UK. The mayor of London is a Muslim, like the new head of the Scottish Executive. And British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak himself is a Hindu and of Indian origin.
In his eagerness to show that a new era is beginning, Carlos III has become the first monarch to show his support for an investigation into the historical links of the Royal House with the slave trade. It was The Guardian newspaper that published an unpublished document in April that shows how Edward Colston, the deputy governor of the Royal African Company, which had the slave trade among its businesses, transferred shares worth 1,000 pounds sterling to the then monarch William III. The statue of Colston erected in his hometown of Bristol was precisely the main protagonist during the 2020 protests of the Black Lives Matter movement when it was demolished by protesters.
It was also “The Guardian” who, in June 2021, unearthed documents from the United Kingdom’s national archives that revealed that Queen Elizabeth II’s courtiers had banned ethnic minority immigrants and the foreigners occupy administrative positions at Buckingham Palace until at least the late 1960s.
By then the controversial interview of Harry y Meghan with Oprah accusing the Royal Family of racism. The accusations were strongly denied by Prince William, heir to the throne. However, they have become one of the main problems of the current reign of Carlos III. Along with the generation gap, the most divisive issue in society is the perception of the Royal Family with their attitudes towards race.
Hence, they now show zero tolerance for any controversy. The quick action of Buckingham Palace in the face of the controversy created at the end of last year with Susan Hussey It was interpreted by analysts as a sign that the Monarchy is learning from the mistakes of the past. Although Hussey had been serving as a of the bridesmaids of the late Elizabeth II for more than 60 years and is the godmother of Prince William, she was forced to resign with immediate effect following controversial comments towards Some Skinhead of an NGO in North London, to which he asked what part of Africa she came from.
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