Now is the time to talk about Empire: Why Queen’s death should make Britain confront its past

The death of Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-serving monarch, has been marked by a global outpouring of grief with civilians and leaders across the world praising the monarch for her 70 years of dedicated service to the United Kingdom and her position internationally as a fixture of stability. Emotions have been particularly high as it came on the heels of her platinum jubilee celebrations.

But accompanying the wave of support have been calls for the acknowledgement of the deadly legacy of the British empire and discussions on the extent to which recent British regents, including Queen Elizabeth, were directly implicated in it. There have also been calls from some corners of the Commonwealth for a fresh debate over the future of the monarchy in their lives, following the proclamation of a new King.

In the UK, meanwhile, rights groups, members of parliament and Britain’s former counter-terror chief, have expressed alarm about the erosion of free speech following a series of arrests of anti-monarchy protesters. Criticism of the Queen has been met with vicious backlash online with some commentators saying they have faced racism and threats to their safety.