The post-imperial club was a global stage that justified the pomp and scale of the crown – but that is not enough to keep it going
Queen Elizabeth II was not just Britain’s head of state. She was an integral part of how a country found its lost destiny. The empire was already in decline when the late queen became monarch, but the United Kingdom still had 70 overseas territories and was basking in the afterglow of its moral and military triumph in the second world war. The coronation was a globally significant event, its golden flummery an enactment of the kind of nation Britain thought it was. Monarchy was presented as hierarchy’s human face.
But history dispelled the illusion of timeless continuity through ceremonial ritual. With revolts brewing in almost every imperial possession, Britain’s global footprint shrank. When Hong Kong was transferred to China in 1997, the Prince of Wales thought it the “end of the empire”. A myth arose that Britain had voluntarily decided to transform its colonies into a commonwealth. Having been cruelly exploited for decades, British colonies became independent republics with indecent haste. Today there are only 15 realms with the monarch as head of state. That number is set to fall: Barbados became a republic last year, with Jamaica likely to follow – and even perhaps Australia.
