Kiwi Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was candid in her interview with the BBC ahead of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral on Monday. She said that although she wouldn’t push it, New Zealand would almost certainly become a republic in her lifetime. Moreover, Wellington is not the only one thinking of letting go of the past. It is one of 14 governments that, at best, still calls the monarch of the United Kingdom its head of state.
As the British crown slips from branch to branch in the family tree, the absurdity of the relationship’s roots is apparent. The polite silence surrounding the mourning of the late queen is now giving way to constitutional chatter in Kingston, Ottawa and Canberra. King Charles III (photographing) should listen to him and know that the stream of nations thinking of ousting him as head of state will inevitably become a flood. So what can a king do to stem a seemingly inexorable tide?
Here’s a thought. Why not control the narrative and free the realms? Instead of waiting for the 14 nations to slowly fulfill their will for self-determination – the political equivalent of death by a thousand cuts – Charles could sell British influence in another way.
There is a plan. The Commonwealth is an imperial hangover rehabilitated into a political union of 56 countries and some 2.5 billion people, including one in three of the world’s 15-29 year olds. A sign of her success? That all countries are equal, even nations with no historical ties to the UK, such as Rwanda. Gabon and Togo only joined this summer.
Focusing on this can show the best parts of Britain: democracy, rule of law and eccentricity. Not flogging fairy tales, divine right or the long shadow of colonialism. Isn’t it better to run a club that everyone wants to join than to run a club that everyone wants to leave?
Kings can no longer command the tides of change, and influence today is earned rather than inherited. Great Britain must get to work. What about Ardern? She is an Anglophile who once lived in London and will remain a friend of Great Britain, regardless of whose face appears on the $20 bill.
Josh Fehnert is the editor of Monocle.
