The fate of the Commonwealth after Queen Elizabeth’s deathQueen Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign was bookended by periods of great uncertainty about Britain’s role onthe world stage. The queen, who died last week at age 96, was coronated in 1953 as the sun wasbeginning to set on the British Empire, and her death comes as the country re-examines its place in theworld amid increasing calls for the United Kingdom to reckon with its colonial history and as republicansentiment gains traction among countries in the Caribbean. Elizabeth learned of her father’s death and of her ascension to the throne at the age of 25 while in Kenyawhile on a month’s long tour of the British Commonwealth in 1952. A decade later, Kenya broke freefrom British rule as a wave of anti-colonial movements swept across Africa and Asia, and dozens ofcountries declared their independence from European imperial powers. Many newly independent members of the former British Empire remained loosely knitted together in theCommonwealth of Nations, which was founded 1949 as a voluntary association of counties with sharedhistories and economic ties as former members of the empire. At its inception, the Commonwealth wasintended to largely promote democracy, peace, and economic development across its member states.While it has proved a valuable diplomatic forum, particularly for smaller nations, it has primarilyremained a cultural forum, as its political and economic importance was quickly eclipsed by otherinternational organizations founded in the wake of World War II. “The Commonwealth has really notreached its potential,” said Cindy McCreery, a historian of the British Empire at the University ofSydney. It has served as a powerful vehicle for British soft power and diplomacy. The queen took a deep, personalinterest in the Commonwealth throughout her reign, making over 200 visits to member states. These are the questions and issues that come to the surface as the newcomer takes the throne. Ofcourse the towering global problems do not change — in some areas like energy and food crisesthey may yet get worse. Climate violence threatens, wars continue, terrorism lurks and bitterpolarization deepens almost everywhere.But in the smooth and rapid transition from one monarch to another lies the powerful messageand an example that some sources of authority still retain trust and stand unerringly for the values ofpeace and justice that many peoples of the world yearn for and yet continue to be denied.
Queen Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign was bookended by periods of great uncertainty about Britain’s role onthe world stage. The queen, who died last week at age 96, was coronated in 1953 as the sun wasbeginning to set on the British Empire, and her death comes as the country re-examines its place in theworld amid increasing calls for the United Kingdom to reckon with its colonial history and as republicansentiment gains traction among countries in the Caribbean. Elizabeth learned of her father’s death and of her ascension to the throne at the age of 25 while in Kenyawhile on a month’s long tour of the British Commonwealth in 1952. A decade later, Kenya broke freefrom British rule as a wave of anti-colonial movements swept across Africa and Asia, and dozens ofcountries declared their independence from European imperial powers. Many newly independent members of the former British Empire remained loosely knitted together in theCommonwealth of Nations, which was founded 1949 as a voluntary association of counties with sharedhistories and economic ties as former members of the empire. At its inception, the Commonwealth wasintended to largely promote democracy, peace, and economic development across its member states.While it has proved a valuable diplomatic forum, particularly for smaller nations, it has primarilyremained a cultural forum, as its political and economic importance was quickly eclipsed by otherinternational organizations founded in the wake of World War II. “The Commonwealth has really notreached its potential,” said Cindy McCreery, a historian of the British Empire at the University ofSydney. It has served as a powerful vehicle for British soft power and diplomacy. The queen took a deep, personalinterest in the Commonwealth throughout her reign, making over 200 visits to member states. These are the questions and issues that come to the surface as the newcomer takes the throne. Ofcourse the towering global problems do not change — in some areas like energy and food crisesthey may yet get worse. Climate violence threatens, wars continue, terrorism lurks and bitterpolarization deepens almost everywhere.But in the smooth and rapid transition from one monarch to another lies the powerful messageand an example that some sources of authority still retain trust and stand unerringly for the values ofpeace and justice that many peoples of the world yearn for and yet continue to be denied.
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