Down with the queen!
On Sept. 8, 2022, Queen Elizabeth II passed away, taking 70+ years of British atrocities to the grave with her. Now, her son, King Charles III, has taken her place as the public head of a country that has ransacked many other nations for money, natural resources and territory.
Admittedly, the queen had minimal executive power. The United Kingdom (UK) is a constitutional monarchy, and since the late 17th century, the king or queen has had no real governmental authority. King Charles will live the rest of his life as nothing but a figurehead, a monarch with all bark and no bite. Regardless, the monarchy in the UK deserves nothing other than a timely death.
To put the situation in perspective, take a step back and imagine a scenario in which you are being harassed by a group of school bullies. Say there are five of them, four of which strip you of your belongings, batter you, maybe steal your lunch money. Then, there is the fifth one. They stand there silent, clearly aware of what the other four are doing, yet complicit in the violence against you. You would harbor hatred towards all five, even if the last kid never laid a finger on you; they all took some part in your torture.
The royal family and its chief monarch are that fifth kid: they have the blood of their country’s many atrocities against the world on their hands. The UK both colonized and launched attacks via guerilla warfare on the South Asian country of Malaysia. Kenya was also subjected to war crimes and torture while Queen Elizabeth II held the throne.
The process of decolonization occurred under Queen Elizabeth II. Yet that did not stop her government from at least somewhat continuing its legacy of pain and suffering against other nations.
Queen Elizabeth II never told Parliament to torture prisoners of war or to colonize formerly sovereign nations rich in natural resources. However, her alliance with the government that allowed these atrocities to happen deserves strong criticism.
Still, there seems to be a large presence of — predominantly white — people who respect the queen and all she has done for the world. Unfortunately, these individuals are either ignorant or simply do not have a proper grip on reality. The fact is these rich, racist bureaucrats do not care the slightest about you, regardless of your positive sentiments.
People must also consider how the monarchy itself actually affects the world on a material level. For British citizens specifically, the monarchy and its upkeep had cost upwards of £86.3m in 2021, equal to about $100 million. When put into perspective, £86.3m is not too much compared to the UK’s total 2021 budget. Nonetheless, it is unethical to be forced to give tax dollars to an immensely wealthy family. Beyond that, £86.3m is money that could be used to better the UK’s social programs, healthcare and infrastructure. Either way, it is a gross misuse of taxpayer dollars to fund a family that simply happened to be born into copious amounts of wealth.
A final point stands: the existence of this unnecessary hierarchy in 2022 is in poor taste. In America, at least the highest-ranked public figure has real political power, for better or worse. In contrast, the UK has a political figurehead cutting ribbons and shaking hands for no reason other than to uphold tradition. Really, if the past “glories” of the UK monarchy were collectively wiped from the public’s mind, no one would want to install a powerless puppet as the face of a powerful country.
The world has progressed past the need for a royal family whose political history involves colonialism, war crimes, torture, wealth hoarding and bootlicking. Cut the nonsense. Reduce the royal family to what they really are: an arbitrary group of wealthy white folk who have family drama just like any other cohort.
Jacob Ramos is an Opinion Intern for the fall 2022 quarter. He can be reached at jacobtr@uci.edu.