Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022): How can a Republican mourn the Queen?

Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) 👑❤️

This is not my usual kind of herstory post. It is not a biography - although hopefully I'll get to write one about the historic reign of the queen someday. All yesterday, I had a lot of conflicting feels about the queens passing, and I know that a lot of people I’ve spoken to feel the same. I spent most of yesterday asking myself "how can a republican mourn the passing of the queen"? This ramble is my attempt to answer that question. I realise this is a very touchy subject and something that everyone will have strong opinions on one way or another, and please note that i totally understand both sides of the coin so please don't hate me. 

On one hand, as the BBC said itself, she was the “face of the British empire” - an empire which I’ve dedicated my career (or at least a PhD and a book) to celebrating the end and highlighting the evils of. From the media coverage, you can see the nostalgia for that empire that she was the last ruler of, which proves that even though the empire in the early years of her reign, she was still an imperial queen at the head of a white supremacist institution, and it can’t be ignored that much of the grief at her death is also a nostalgia for a more racist world which many Brit’s would happily return to.  I’ve been disgusted by the behaviour of some (most) of the royal family over the years, and by the protection the queen gave them even when they broke the laws of land and humanity. She watched and did nothing as the media tore her family apart, and she forced her son into a loveless marriage, ruining many lives in the process. And I’d be lying if I said that part of my decision to leave the royal household was discomfort at being a part of an institution which I so fundamentally and morally disagreed with. Whether or not she was personally racist (maybe her racism just paled in comparison to her husband’s), she was the head of an institutionally racist institution, built on the backs of millions (if not billions) of oppressed people under British control. She happily wore a crown bedecked with jewels literally stolen from colonised lands. And for seventy years she sat in her palaces of gold and hoarded money while her people starved – a more striking thought than ever as we face the winter fuel/cost of living crisis. So, when people call for abolishing the monarchy, it’s hard to disagree, especially given the king that now sits on the throne. When thousands of little old ladies died from covid because of the government she didn’t stop, and more will probably die of cold this winter, it’s hard to pity her family who, although grieving, are still living a life so far removed from what any of their subjects can ever imagine. The funeral, the practical changes, and the coronation of King Charles (can’t even type that without being a little bit sick in my mouth), is going to cost the taxpayer millions and we have no say in whether or not we want to contribute to this pageantry. For those already struggling, and for those who have directly suffered from the oppression her family inflicted on their lands, this is sure to be a particularly cruel blow, and it amazes me how anyone can justify a publicly funded monarchy in 2022.

However, in my head it’s surprisingly hard to equate The Queen The Monarch with the little old lady who sat alone in the church grieving for her husband or who cried on the balcony as the crowds sang her national anthem probably knowing that it was the last time she would receive her people. With her stoic attitude and dry sense of humour, it was hard not to adore her just a little bit, especially as she aged and began to care less about protocol and politeness. She suffered a lot of tragedy in her personal life, and yet never faulted in her duty - working right up until the very end. Her life was never really her own -  Harry has shown us how difficult it is to walk away from the crown, even as a distant heir let alone as Queen. She was never meant to be Queen and she never asked for it, but she never complained and she never gave up. For a 25 year old - a year younger than me - woman to be thrown into such a position is incredible and to have managed it successfully for 70 years is a massive achievement when you look at the royal (sorry) mess her ancestors made of their responsibilities. We have to accept that politically her power was very limited, and for the most part she watched helpless as the world transformed around her. It’s incredible to think how much has changed - for better or for worse - during her reign, and it’s crazy that almost every person on earth today has only ever known her as queen. Plus, some of the people who have taken her death hardest are those from commonwealth countries in whose name others are denouncing her. If we hate her based on the fact that our taxes funded her, there are plenty of other billionaires who have made their riches on the wages of others and done just as little work. Even landlords have taken more of my money than the queen ever has, and I’m pretty sure they won’t be working at 96. Personally, I owe her a great deal because although she never knew I existed and I only saw her from afar, officially being a part of her household for a couple of years gave me some of the happiest moments and best friends of my life, and for that I’ll always be grateful. I do believe that she cared for her staff, cared for her people, and that deep down she just wanted to be left alone for a simple life of walking her dogs in the highlands. It makes me happy that she died at Balmoral because it’s well known that it’s the only place she felt free to be herself and I’m glad that after a life lived in public service she was l able to die on her own terms. And, as a herstorian, she’s obviously one of the most memorable and iconic women of all time, and for that alone, I’ve always admired her. Especially as (if the monarchy survives) we’ll only have kings for the foreseeable future. There’s a certain smugness in knowing that despite all the Tudor panic about a lack of male heirs, our three most successful monarchs have been Queens. 

 

I saw someone say she was our one constant in an ever-changing world and I think that best sums up why this is such a huge moment for British and world history and why even the most ardent republicans feel a bit unsettled by her passing. In the same way that the pandemic affected everyone differently, everyone had a shared sense of living through history and of watching momentous changes unfold before their eyes. Most people alive today didn’t know a world where she wasn’t queen, and it’s very hard to picture one. I really didn’t expect to cry real tears for a boss I’ve never directly spoken to, but sometimes life surprises you. In a way, she felt like a connection to my late grandparents, like their generation and everything they fought for and believed in (I’m thinking WW2 and defeating the Nazis rather than upholding colonialism here, although the debate about whether they’re one and the same is a debate for another day) is slipping away and become further and further a part of history rather than a part of our present. I think that’s why so many feel that they’ve lost their grandmother – because she was a link to the generations that we have loved, admired, and lost.  

Watching the rainbows over Balmoral, Windsor Castle, and Buckingham Palace it’s hard not to see it as a sign that she had been welcomed back to her husband, her family, and her doggos and that she wanted to let us know it was all alright. 

 

I think ultimately it’s okay to be conflicted and not know how to feel. You can hate the institution and everything she represented, and even her if you can’t separate them. And you can celebrate that her passing marks the (hopeful beginning of the) end of centuries of colonialism and elitism. And you can 100% call for the abolition of the monarchy, which I think should end with the incredible reign of an incredible woman. But you can also mourn for the end of an era, the loss of the one evergreen constant in our constantly uncertain world.  world.  And you can recognise that as well as queen she was a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, friend, and leader and that many people will be genuinely mourning her loss as a person as well as a sovereign.  So, for the last time in generations, God Save the Queen. For many reasons, I genuinely don’t think we’ll ever see another sovereign like her.