Long may she reign… but over us?

I grew up hearing a story about a popular local character, now deceased, who was alleged to have been arrested after publicly uttering the words, “God damn the Queen…”, virtually tantamount to blasphemy in the colonial Caribbean, but who had to be released after pleading that the arresting officer had not allowed him to finish his sentence. What he had meant to say, the story goes, is “God damn the Queen’s enemies”. End of story.{{more}}

For some strange reason, this tale came right back to me, as I, along with millions of viewers and listeners follow the Diamond Jubilee celebrations currently being held to mark 60 years since Elizabeth of the House of Windsor became Queen Elizabeth II, monarch not only of the United Kingdom, but of hundreds of millions of people, of multiple creeds and races, all around the globe. St Vincent and the Grenadines is one of 16 Commonwealth realms, including the United Kingdom, organizing activities to mark the occasion. I wonder how many of our own people know what is a realm. For the purpose of clarification, a realm is a country which has the Queen of the United Kingdom as its monarch. Significantly, nine of the fifteen non-UK realms are in the Caribbean, a comment on our constitutional status.

In the United Kingdom, it was a very big weekend, as was only to be expected. After all, it is only the second time that the people of that country have had such an opportunity. Not since the first occasion, the Diamond Jubilee of Britain’s Queen Victoria in 1897, still the longest-serving British monarch, has there been an occasion like this. A once-in-a-lifetime series of events it is, drawing not only supporters of the monarchy, but tourists, curiosity-seekers etc, all adding to the drama, pomp and splendour. To add to the attractions, the 2012 Olympiad is being hosted by Britain, beginning the month after the Jubilee, the first one to be held during Elizabeth’s reign.

There is no doubt about the personal popularity of Elizabeth II and the admiration with which she is viewed in the United Kingdom and without. But this in no way negates the fact that in a modern world, where the banners of democracy are so prominently displayed, the idea of a monarchy is more and more an anachronism. To talk of having not only a non-elected Head of State, but one who inherits this position by hereditary means, by accident of birth, flies in the face of all claims to democracy.

The British Royal family is in a very privileged position with worth valued at some 44 billion pounds sterling. These include 18 billion pounds in assets, including the precious “Crown Jewels”, many plundered from Africa and India, including the unique Star of Africa diamond, the largest cut diamond in the world, emanating from the Transvaal in South Africa. Queen Elizabeth herself, with an estimated net worth of US $500 million, includes in her royal possession property valued at some 7 billion pounds, including high-value property in London and 1 billion pounds worth of rural property, among them 106,000 hectares (over 260,000 acres) of prime farm land.

The defenders of the monarchy argue, with some conviction, of its value, and in particular that of Queen Elizabeth, in maintaining political and social stability in the British society. They also point to the fact that it is a big tourist attraction to the UK, an undeniable fact, contributing an estimated 500 million pounds annually in tourism earnings to the British economy. Yet, even in the context of the UK, there are increasing pressures for constitutional reform, including abolishing the non-elected House of Lords and, in some quarters, claims for getting rid of the monarchy itself. In fact, even the United Kingdom itself is being questioned, with Scotland due to hold a referendum on independence next year, and Wales and Northern Ireland their own National Assemblies.

The abolition of the monarchy has been very much part of the process of modern political evolution and today there are only 8 major monarchies, and four minor ones left in Europe. There are though, a whole range of deposed royal families scattered all over the continent, some still entertaining hopes of a comeback to the old “royal days”. It is worthy of note that some of these were on the list of invitees to a special Jubilee dinner hosted by Buckingham Palace, joining the likes of the hated King of Bahrain and the profligate King Mswati III of Swaziland, notorious for his 14 wives. This had provoked protest, slightly marring the royal celebrations.

The value of the monarchy to the United Kingdom and its continued existence or not are matters for the British people to solve, but what of us in the Caribbean, loyal subjects singing, “God save our gracious queen”; does that have relevance in our modern society?

We’ll visit this question in Friday’s issue of SEARCHLIGHT.

Renwick Rose is a community activist and social commentator.