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From the very beginning, Queen Elizabeth II鈥檚 reign was deeply connected to Britain鈥檚 global empire and the long and bloody processes of decolonization. 

Indeed, she became queen while on a royal visit to . After she left, the colony descended into one of the worst conflicts of the British colonial period. Declaring a state of emergency in October 1952, the British would go on to  before it was over.

Is it possible to disentangle the personal attributes of a gentle and kindly woman from her role as the crowned head of a declining global empire that waged numerous wars and resisted those demanding independence across the globe? 

Even though she was a constitutional monarch who generally followed the lead of her parliament, many of Britain鈥檚 ex-subjects don鈥檛 think so, and some historians agree, with  that 鈥淓lizabeth II helped obscure a bloody history of decolonization whose legacies have yet to be adequately acknowledged.鈥�

Here in Australia, too, while some Australians remember with nostalgia the time they waved small flags along the route of royal tours as children,  has pointed out that the queen 鈥渨asn鈥檛 a bystander to the effects of colonization and colonialism.鈥�

It Depends Who鈥檚 Remembering

How the queen and her reign is being remembered depends on where the remembering is taking place and by whom.

This isn鈥檛 a new phenomenon. Unforgettable is  in March 2022, when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were bluntly told by the prime minister of Jamaica the region was 鈥渕oving on鈥� from the British monarchy.

Others, too, noted the British monarchy was a constant reminder of the period of slavery, with a government committee in the Bahamas urging them to offer 鈥渁 full and formal apology for their crimes against humanity.鈥�

This ongoing process of national distancing from a British royal past is continuing today, even in the week of the queen鈥檚 death.

In India, for example, only days ago, the once grand boulevard of empire, Rajpath (formerly known as Kingsway in honor of the British Emperor of India George V)  and headed with a giant statue of Subhas Chandra Bose, one of India鈥檚 most strident (and controversial) anti-British nationalists.

At the unveiling of this statue, India鈥檚 nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that 鈥渁nother symbol of slavery has been removed today鈥� and urged all Indians to visit the site.

Complicated Histories

The theme of a 鈥渃omplicated historical relationship鈥� with the monarchy is also prominent in South Africa, with  declaring that 鈥淪outh Africa鈥檚 relationship with the British monarchy is as complicated as it gets.鈥�

It was in South Africa that Elizabeth declared her intention to devote herself to Britain鈥檚 鈥渋mperial family鈥� of colonies . But it was also on the question of South Africa鈥檚 apartheid regime that the queen showed a rare moment of dissent with one of her prime ministers,  quietly Margaret Thatcher鈥檚 decision not to join other countries in placing economic sanctions on the regime. 

Elsewhere, Iraq鈥檚  with the United Kingdom, which stretches back to the 1920s,  in local reports. More recently,  during the war that Britain began alongside the United States, Australia, and other nations in 2003. 

In Malaysia,  and mass resettlement programs during the bloody Malayan Emergency (1948鈥�1960) and the period of decolonization is also still clearly remembered. Not only did this conflict rumble on during the early years of Queen Elizabeth II鈥檚 reign, all attempts at an inquiry into events in Malaya have been  by British governments. 

Even in neighboring Ireland, which has sought to smooth relations with its nearest neighbor,  has spoken euphemistically of Queen Elizabeth鈥檚 relationship with 鈥渢hose with whom her country has experienced a complex, and often difficult, history.鈥�

Newspapers there also ponder what her death might mean for , the site of the Anglo鈥揑rish conflict euphemistically known as the 鈥淭roubles鈥� as well as recent strained relations.

The queen may have 鈥渃harmed鈥�  with her commemoration of those who fought the British there. But few will have forgotten the role of the British army in Northern Ireland, including the now infamous 鈥淏loody Sunday鈥� Massacre of 1972, nor the queen鈥檚  government rejecting its victims鈥� demands for justice.

Some might suggest the tortured history of the declining British Empire should be seen as separate from the reign and person of Elizabeth II. Certainly nothing suggests the queen was particularly bellicose in her demeanor.

But as  once remarked, while a monarch might personally be kind and generous, they remain the monarch, the head of the state that fights its wars and (on occasion) commits its crimes鈥攁ll in the name of the Crown.

The role of Queen Elizabeth II in the history of British colonialism will continue to be debated well after her death.

This article was originally published by聽. It has been republished here with permission.