The last few days since the death of Queen Elizabeth II have felt like a complete whirlwind. As someone who studies the history of monarchy & empire, there's been so much to process intellectually & emotionally. I wanted to share a few thoughts, so here comes a thread... 1/14
Firstly, the conflicted nature of domestic & global reactions to the Queen's death is remarkable. So many overlapping, competing currents of grief, scorn, anger, poignancy & bemusement all jumbled together. Social media means we see & feel it more clearly than ever before. 2/14
All too alarming is the silencing of holistic & critical reflection of the late Queen's reign/role of the monarchy under a mawkish, oppressive rendering of 'respect' & 'mourning'. Where is the space to deal productively with everyone's conflicted feelings & ideas? 3/14
I've not felt ready or comfortable to write/tweet about this major event these past few days as a result. But I have been truly inspired by some incredible writing published by various thinkers which I want to share & reflect on here. 4/14
.@afuahirsch's words deeply resonated with me. Having been born & brought up in Britain, it's hard to know how to feel about a Queen who has always been there; yet who we also know to be at the heart of Britain's entrenched, hereditary inequality. 5/14
theguardian.com
theguardian.com
.@PriyaSatia's elegant, powerful prose in this TIME op-ed gives us a much-needed long view of the devastating global historical impact of the monarchy's power politics in Britain & around the world. 6/14
time.com
time.com
This fantastic piece by @ElizabethKolsky gives further, valuable insight into why people from former British colonies have seized this moment to be so vocal about 'dark' aspects of the monarchy's history & the Queen's reign. 8/14
washingtonpost.com
washingtonpost.com
Most inspiring of all for me has been @labourlewis's call for a better debate about the future of the monarchy & democracy in this country. He rightly (& vitally!) calls out "the flawed reality of the very limited democracy we inhabit". 9/14
theguardian.com
theguardian.com
I know it's likely that many on this platform will see all this as 'disrespect' or 'woke rubbish doing down' the Queen/Britain. But these changes (the Queen dying, understandings of history changing) are upon us, whether we like it or not. Why not hear each other out? 10/14
Questions now remain about how we move forward. It's clear many admired the Queen's service & are heart-broken at her loss, but time will also likely reveal more evidence about her household's problematic political activity over the past 70 yrs. 11/14
theguardian.com
theguardian.com
Clive Lewis rightly highlights how we are all hankering to see more 'service', 'duty' & 'sacrifice' in our politics & leaders. We deserve this. I LOVE his suggestion for brilliant teachers, nurses, firefighters etc to replace hereditary monarchs as elected heads of state. 12/14
Overall, we stand to gain so much by engaging in a deeper, critical reflection on our history & current politics, & even daring to imagine alternatives beyond the monarchy. This is not about hating on 'British tradition' but learning from the past to help ALL to thrive. 13/14
If we're going to move forward healthily, there has to be space for us to respectfully allow everyone to mourn, be angry, listen, learn & reflect. These are the values that we urgently need to make a priority in all spheres of life. Call me naive, but I hope we can do it! END
Since this thread has taken off more than I expected(!), I’ll add this: For anyone looking for child-friendly resources to discuss the history & future of the #monarchy with kids at home/in school - check out this pack I wrote for Oxford University in 2019 oxplore.org
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