By Damien CaveIn Commonwealth nations with British colonial histories, Queen Elizabeth’s death is rekindling discussions about a more independent future.
Queen Elizabeth II in Tuvalu during a 1982 tour of the South Pacific, which also included a stop in the Solomon Islands.Credit...Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images
HONIARA, Solomon Islands — Millicent Barty has spent years trying to decolonize her country, recording oral histories across the Solomon Islands and promoting Melanesian culture. Her goal: to prioritize local knowledge, not just what arrived with the British Empire.
But on Friday morning, when asked about the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Ms. Barty sighed and frowned. Her eyes seemed to hold a cold spring of complicated emotion as she recalled meeting the queen in 2018 with a Commonwealth young leaders’ program.
“I love Her Majesty,” she said, sipping coffee on the Solomon island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific, 9,300 miles from Buckingham Palace. “It’s really sad.”
Reconciling a seemingly benevolent queen with the often-cruel legacy of the British Empire is the conundrum at the heart of Britain’s post-imperial influence. The British royal family reigned over more territories and people than any other monarchy in history, and among the countries that have never quite let go of the crown, Queen Elizabeth’s death accelerates a push to address the past more fully and strip away the vestiges of colonialism.
“Does the monarchy die with the queen?” said Michele Lemonius, who grew up in Jamaica and recently completed a Ph.D in Canada with a focus on youth violence in former slave colonies. “It’s time for dialogue. It’s time for a conversation.”
