The Commonwealth is a reflection of UK’s ongoing soft power

News Letter editorial on Monday March 28 2022:
News Letter editorialNews Letter editorial
News Letter editorial

An inescapable element of the recent visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to the Caribbean was the anti British protests that were held to coincide with the trip.

While the calls for slavery reparations during Wililam and Kate’s tour were linked to local political and economic disputes, they nonetheless reflected a strain of thinking in former British colonies.

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Prince William has wisely recognised that the Queen and her successors might not in the future be head of state in the nations that he visited with the duchess — Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas.

In many respects it is striking that the monarchy has been retained in so many former parts of the empire. But with even Australia, for example, having considered jettisoning this link over the decades, it is hardly surprising if countries that once experienced slavery and codified, racially segregated rule do so too.

The Duke of Cambridge realises that local populations will not take lectures on their future status from British leaders, least of all a young royal. Yet this tour, as royal tours typically do, showed that there is still a deep affection for that same monarchy in much of the world.

Longer term, it is the future of the Commonwealth of Nations that matters more than the retention of the Queen (or a future king) as head of state in places that might sever that arrangement regardless. The association is a reflection of the huge soft power that the UK has — its cultural reach, and the links to countries around the globe.

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Even states that have bruising memories of empire usually recognise the upsides of the former British presence, in terms of aspects of government such as parliamentary democracy and civil administration.

It was sad to learn recently of a poll that showed, if anything, a diminishing appetite in the Republic of Ireland to join the Commonwealth.

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