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Following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II earlier this month, tributes poured in, though not all were complimentary. Many in the black community in Britain questioned what she had ever done for us. With emotions still running high about the poisonous legacy of Britain’s colonial past, the question handed her eldest son and heir, Charles III, a sneak preview of what he will have to face in his role as king. The queen presided over 14 other kingdoms, including slave-trading-related Caribbean nations, at the time of her death.
Charles instantly succeeded his mother as their distant head of state, but as republican movements pick up steam, the question of for how long is being raised more and more.
The day after the queen passed away on September 8, University of Birmingham professor of black studies Kehinde Andrews said that he did not share the nation’s sorrow.
Royals are charged –
Many black Britons believe that racism is ingrained in many British institutions, and they no longer wish to remain silent about it.
Black Lives Matter anti-racism marches brought the issue to light, with requests for the destruction of statues of historical people associated with slavery.
Unarmed black man Chris Kaba was shot and killed by police in London when he was unarmed. Protests were organised in response to his death during the time of national mourning, which ended with the queen’s funeral on September 19.
When Prince Harry, the youngest son of Charles, and his mixed-race wife, Meghan, accused the royal family of racism, the monarchy itself was thrust into the controversy.
The queen promised to look into that allegation, but Harry’s brother William flatly rejected it. We are not a racist family, he assured the media.
Early in 2020, Harry and Meghan left the life of a royal couple and relocated to California. For challenging the British establishment, they gained a lot of admiration from young people and the black community.
The “mass awakening”
Charles is expected to follow his mother as leader of the 56-nation Commonwealth, making unanswered issues like race and colonialism all the more important.
The majority of the 2.6 billion members of the organisation are non-white and under 30 years old, and many of them are former British colonies.
There has been a “mass awakening to the reality and legacies of imperialism and slavery,” according to David Olusoga, author of “Black and British: A Forgotten History,” in the Commonwealth.
The British historian, however, claimed in The Guardian that Buckingham Palace had not acknowledged or comprehended the “change of awareness.”
He referred to the Caribbean trip that William and his wife Catherine took earlier this year, which was roundly criticised for having colonial overtones.
Additionally, William was under pressure to apologise for slavery and demand that the crown make amends.
