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KUALA LUMPUR – With the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, difficult questions on the long shadow of British imperialism and the constitutional monarchy system have resurfaced in many Commonwealth countries.
Fierce conversations have been taking place in Australia, India, the African nations, and the Caribbean on whether to become republics and remove the British monarch as their head of state.
Weighing in is Charles Hay, the British High Commissioner to Malaysia, who said that the British monarchy has been clear “for a considerable time” that it is up to the country concerned whether to have a different head of state.
“This came up in the recent CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting). The then-Prince of Wales (now King Charles III) was very clear that it was absolutely a decision by Jamaica. It is the same for other countries who choose to do that,” he told The Vibes in an exclusive interview at his residence here recently.
During CHOGM in June, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, and St Kitts and Nevis made public their intentions to become republics and remove the British queen as their head of state while remaining in the Commonwealth.
This followed Barbados, which became a republic on November 30 last year.
However, Hay said it is a separate issue in the United Kingdom – where the question is whether people in the 21st century want to be ruled by an unelected monarch who inherited the job.
“Seems to me a perfectly legitimate question, which should be discussed. As we should discuss the House of Lords, whether it should continue to be in the system. It is important to keep these things under constant review rather than to accept and never question it.
But it has never approached majority support (to abolish the monarchy). That is not to say it won’t, but not for now.”
He added that while it starts out as a simple question – whether to have a king or to elect a president – it will require a complete overhaul of the entire constitutional settlement.
“An elected president perhaps will not be satisfied with what a monarch has, which is extremely limited constitutional powers that rarely need to be exercised. He (the monarch) is always seen as a backstop to prevent things from going terribly wrong.
Let’s assume that a president will have more powers than a monarch, which seems reasonable. But who will give it up? The prime minister? The second chamber (House of Lords)?
“If we have an elected president, would it be feasible to have an unelected second chamber? Probably not. Would you then abolish that at the same time?”
The UK is facing unprecedented change, from the aftermath of Brexit, to bracing for a recession, to the ascension of a new king and the appointment of a new prime minister.
New king, new PM – a country in transition
When he was Prince of Wales for some 64 years, Charles had been outspoken on a number of issues, especially on climate change, sustainability, and environmentalism. It remains to be seen if he can stay above politics and keep his opinions private – something the queen had famously done during her reign.
Meanwhile, new prime minister Liz Truss is a far cry from being an environmentalist after she expressed doubt over renewable energy policies and pledged to focus on fossil fuel investment.
“The king has said he knows he will have to do things differently as a sovereign and leave behind some of the causes he founded.
I remember at the time when he started championing those causes, people thought he was eccentric. Organic farm, tree-hugging, and sustainability practices – he has shown that he was ahead of his time in many ways.
“A lot of the causes he was championing have become mainstream,” said Hay.
He added that the younger royals Prince William and Prince Harry have started to champion causes that are relatable to their generation, such as mental health.
“It is something that would not have happened in previous generations. In that sense, they are in tune with their generation much more than before,” he added.
A monarch’s soft power
Much has been written about the Queen’s projection of soft power during her 70-year reign. The Observer recently described her as “a mistress of soft power, knowing when to project full regal majesty and when to play kindly grandmother, and a unique diplomatic resource”.
Hay, who served in the British diplomatic services in the Czech Republic, recalled the Queen’s first state visit in 1996 to a country with no particular connections to the UK or the royal houses.
“Nobody knew how the Czech were going to respond to the queen but the crowds turned out for her in numbers that no one predicted.
People were saying they never saw anything like it. She was on a balcony in the main square and it was full – just one heaving mass of people as far as the eye can see.
“Although the country has had no royal family since the Second World War, there was something about the queen that they wanted to be there for. She also did walkabouts, shook hands, which is something not many heads of state do.”
Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch in British history, died on September 8 in Balmoral Castle, Scotland. She was 96.
The eldest of her four children, Charles, who at 73 was the oldest heir apparent in British history, became king immediately. – The Vibes, October 2, 2022