Preparations are underway in the United Kingdom for the coronation of King Charles, on May 6, 2023. The coronation of King Charles III will be the first of its kind in the UK after 70 years.
Bunting is hung from buildings throughout towns and cities, souvenirs and costumes are everywhere, and on Monday, Britons receive an additional public holiday to commemorate the event.
Despite the sense of happiness among many Britons, a recent poll found that 48% of people said they were unlikely to attend coronation celebrations and 64% said they did not care about the upcoming coronation.
Some members of the Caribbean community in London were interviewed about their opinions on King Charles and the royal family, whether troubled pasts can ever be forgotten, and the Caribbean movement to overthrow the monarchy as head of government at their home country.
“I might watch, although I’m not much of an admirer of celebrity news. Nobody, in my opinion, is better than me. I don’t celebrate other people, I just celebrate myself,” said Ivor John, a Caribbean in London.
Asked about what he thinks of King Charles, Mr. John answered, “well, I believe he is fine. But I find his treatment of Meghan and Harry to be appalling. I’m not sure, but I believe there is bias or racial discrimination present there.”
Mr. Ivor John also share his thoughts of the British Monarchy, this is what he said, “in 1984, I took my father to Buckingham Palace, when he visited me. He was happy, and I was overjoyed to see him smile, but I’m 82 now, I don’t share his views on monarchy. I treat people with respect since I don’t think anyone is superior to me. As a result, I would treat the monarch with respect if I saw him.”
Mr. John also said the Caribbean countries should have their own government, rather than having the monarch as their head of state. The Caribbean nations should have something to celebrate their heritage, same as the monarch has its own heritage. “Their history is based on colonialism, racism, slavery and corruption.”
Donald Waugh, 61, actor, creative artist, tutor and most importantly a Caribbean descent, also shared his views about the coronation, the King, the monarchy and Caribbean nation dumping the monarch as their Head of State.
“If I’m being totally honest with you, no, because it doesn’t really interest me,” Donald Waugh said, about attending or watching the coronation.
“He wants to be in tune with the younger generation. He wants to be more modern, but I don’t know if he really has much power or weight, as his mother. Because of her silence and her anonymity, that gave her more mystique if there were problems, she always kept her mouth shut and dealt with it in a dignified way.”
Mr. Waugh on his thought of the King.
“It’s a different generation now. King Charles is moving into a new era. I don’t know if he has the same kind of gravitas or the same kind of respect that the queen commanded,” Donald Waugh said.
“My parents are from the Caribbean. They came over in the sixties and I still remember the problems that the British caused for what would be my grandparents or my great grandparents. My parents came over here full of life and they wanted to embrace this country, the motherland. But when they got here, they faced a lot of hardship. I’m not really in favor of the monarch, also because of slavery a lot of money is still being made from the slavery period. I’m not really a royalist, if I’m totally honest.”
Donald Waugh shared his thoughts about what he thinks of the British Monarch.
“I think the generations that are coming up behind us, which would be like our nephews or our younger brothers, even though they’re scattered in different parts of the Caribbean Islands, they feel the pain that we went through. They want to cut the ties, they no longer want to be dictated to, you know. Our country, new rules, new school. Let us sort our problems out for ourselves. The problem with the British Empire has been that, they took and they raided and they plundered. The younger generation is little bit more educated on the history that was hidden.”
Donald Waugh on the Caribbean abolishing the Monarch as their Head of Government.
The British Monarch has always come under severe criticisms, due to the history that surround them. Their activities against the Caribbean’s, Africa and other parts of the world, in the colonial era, are still histories and stories, that ignites strong pain among the victims of the Monarch, during the colonial era.
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