King Charles’ accession ignites royal controversy across the Commonwealth | Charles III

The accession of King Charles to the throne has reignited debate about whether the royal family deserves a global role in the 21st century.

The legacy of empire and slavery that has intertwined with British royalty for centuries has raised tough questions about the status of foreign kings and Republican movements from the Pacific to North America to Europe. . caribbean Assess if they should seize the moment.

recent developments, especially Barbados to become a republic in 2021 The dismissal of Queen Elizabeth as head of state also led to a crescendo that could reach a climax.

The Republican Party has a strong voice in Australia, new zealand Canada and Jamaica seem likely to face this problem soon, especially since a constitutional referendum may be required to appoint a new king.

On Friday, main story On the front page of The Gleaner, one of Jamaica’s leading newspapers, the Queen’s death “will make it easier for Jamaica to break with the monarchy”.

In the words of cultural expert Jafrani Naia, a senior lecturer at the University of the West Indies, Elizabeth II had “a kind of personal lingering among several segments of the population.” However, he added: world. “

In 2020, Mikael Phillips, an opposition member of the Jamaican parliament, submitted a motion to support the removal of the monarch, saying on Thursday he hoped the prime minister would “act more quickly if a new monarch is in place.” Said there was

The Jamaican government last year announced plans to seek compensation from London for an estimated 600,000 Africans sent to Jamaica for economic benefit to British slaveholders. More than half of Jamaicans said they wanted the Queen removed as head of state.

For decades, the royal family has been trying to deal with Britain’s bloody imperial past.Attended as Prince Charles barbados At last year’s ceremony, he delivered a speech of reconciliation, referring to the “horrible atrocities of slavery” that “forever tarnish British history”.

More than 10 million Africans were driven into the Atlantic slave trade by European nations, and those who survived the journey traveled to the Caribbean and Americas.

Belize had already announced constitutional changes, and political leaders in British territories abroad, such as the British Virgin Islands, were moving in the same direction.

wider British Commonwealth, a group of 56 countries containing 2.5 billion people also face the calculation. The organization attempted to democratize, for example, by declaring that its head would not have a hereditary role. It makes me feel uncomfortable.

In Australia, Canada and New Zealand, the migration has brought grief, but also resentment about the negative impact British colonization had on Indigenous peoples.

In Canberra, Parliament was suspended for 15 days and the Sydney Opera House was lit up in honor of the Queen.Yet, within hours of her death being announced, a long-lasting Republican debate revived.

Green Party senator Maureen Falki said “we cannot mourn the leaders of a racist empire built on the stolen lives, lands and wealth of its colonized peoples” .

In June of this year, Australia’s new government, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, appointed Matt Thistlethwaite as the country’s first minister tasked with overseeing the transition to a republic.

In New Zealand, Republican Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern remembered Queen Elizabeth II as “extraordinary” and said she came “to define the notions of service, charity and coherence”. Green Party co-leader Malama Davidson said the relationship between the British monarchy and New Zealand was “for another time”.

In any case, a new departure from the British royal family seemed an inevitable problem. told Radio New Zealand New Zealand’s chances of becoming a republic “are now gaining considerable momentum”.

In Fiji, a British colony from 1874 to 1970, the Queen was being mourned, but British imperialism had complicated their feelings, librarian Inise Kruware said. I think a lot of people are sad, but not all, because a lot of people are still a little bit angry about the fact of colonialism.”

In Vanuatu, which operated as a joint French-British colony after World War II until independence 42 years ago, residents of the capital, Port Vila, expressed grief over her death, but the monarchy’s importance faded. said that Over the years.

“She was a very good role model. She came to Vanuatu, but that was before I was born,” said Lopez Adams, who runs a café in Port Vila. “We grieve for her family, but they are forgotten by us. The settlers came and they took. Hmm.”