By now the whole world is aware that Great Britain’s longest-reigning monarch has passed away.
The above chart highlight the 54 members of the British Commonwealth. The difference between that and the territories that made up the former British Empire of the past is the member countries are all Independent but they have all voluntarily vassalized themselves with the United Kingdom. Officially, the British Isles are the extent of the Monarchy’s direct control.
Contrary to how American media outlets characterizes it, the British King or Queen is NOT a figurehead like Japan’s Emperor is. He or She is a Head of State and that entails. The UK has a Hereditary Monarchy and thus, her next of kin will assume the throne. That would be her son Charles III, who himself is 70 years old.
In recent years, apparently there were internal discussions around Charles III abdicating so that his oldest son William–40 years old–could become King and give the UK a much younger Monarch more in touch with 80% of its people. We’ll have to wait and see on that though from what I remember hearing, Queen Elizabeth approved of it if it happened.
I’m not gonna bore you with the late queen’s highlights since all the media outlets will be likely be running it 24/7 for at least the next few days. It might sound really weird to those of us in the U.S. for our media outlets to be talking about a foreign head of state but the fact of the matter is she has been a constant presence on the global stage since World War II.
Queen Elizabeth is also something of a cultural icon both when she first became queen and in recent years. She has met 14 of the last 15 presidents, the exception being Lyndon B. Johnson. It’s interesting to note the first and last presidents she met as queen–Dwight Eiseinhower and Joe Biden–she also met before they became president. She met Eisenhower during WWII when he was Supreme Allied Commander of the European Theater and she met Biden when he was Vice President and a Senator.
Her passing comes during a time legit questions about the relevance of the British Monarchy have been raised in recent decades. As it happens, both India and Jamaica were recently discussing becoming Independent from the British Commonwealth. Just last year, Barbados became independent. We’ll have to wait and see where things go from here.
In a prerecorded pretime address, King Charles III spoke to Great Britain and the world. Honoring the life of his mother was forefront but he also acknowledged his sons from the late Princess Diana in his remarks, Crown Prince William and Prince Harry.
Commenting on Prince Harry specifically, he notably wished his son and daughter-in-law well in building a life for themselves overseas. This transition with the Monarchy comes not long about a year after Prince Harry announced he and Meghan were stepping away from their duties as royals and were moving to Canada. Then Prince Harry revealed in a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey the real reason he left was because of overt racism towards his wife from some family members, some allegedly questioning what their son Archie’s skin tone might be when she was pregnant.
This is to say nothing of the ripple effect the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota two years ago had on the UK and its Commonwealth member nations. Note the chart I shared above twice. Barbados became Independent from the British Commonwealth last year and now there are signs both India and Jamaica are close to doing the same.
People need to understand something: The UK’s influence spans a third of the world population and has since at least the 1500s when Europe’s age of Exploration and Colonialism began. The UK has a presence on every continent. This includes countries and territories that have since gone independent. For those who didn’t know, the U.S. Constitution is modeled after the UK’s Magna Carter.
Anyway, the British Royal Family is dealing with a reckoning from the centuries of Slavery and Colonialism. Although the UK was the first European power to outlaw Slavery shortly after the U.S. became independent, it continued to brutally subjegate territories and countries it invaded like the other European powers all over the world.
I’ll put it like this to my fellow Americans: How would you feel if credit for NASA was given to the UK instead of the U.S.? The Hoover Dam? How about having to go to London to learn about your own culture? This is what most British colonies and territories had and today still have to do. I haven’t even gotten to the obvious exploitation of native populations and resources.
Today, most of the British Commonwealth’s member nations do have varying degrees of autonomy. Before Queen Elizabeth died, I did remember hearing King Charles comment on the need to prepare for the reality the Commonwealth is going to lose “a lot” of its member nations when the Queen passes away. He seemed open to allowing that to happen and his position is unlikely to change now that he is king.
To my knowledge, these are the countries that are actively planning to or are thinking of becoming independent from the UK:
- Jamaica
- India
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Belize
- Grenada
- Guyana
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- Trinidad and Tobago
- South Africa
- Ghana
- Kenya
- Sierra Leone
- Tanzania
- Singapore
Mostly countries in the Carribbean, Latin America or the African continent which is probably little surprise. These countries want the freedom to chart their own course or align themselves with other nations.
The British Royal Family has been keenly aware for decades that times have changed and they want to be a part of that change. Clearly that includes willingly giving up large chunks of its territory at this point. In addition to that, a more interesting conversation I’m also hearing about is the possability of reparations being paid to current and former colonies. We’ll have to wait and see how things play out in regards to that.
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