Sylvia Wynter's Dream

Miska G.’s reaction to the death of the former Queen of the United Kingdom

My dad informed me of the death of Queen Elizabeth II. I was briefly surprised but not shocked since news reports of her poor health had been circulating. The death of Queen Elizabeth II had no effect on my life, except for everyone talking about it on the various media platforms I used. The late Queen and the monarchy is a concept that seems far away from the world that I live in, except for the occasional media reports that I heard about them, they essentially did not exist or matter in my little bubble.

I have heard of a conspiracy theory about the late Queen and the royal family where many people were speculating whether or not were supernatural creatures, such as a werewolf. While it was a ridiculous theory, it was also the first time that I paid attention to the existence of the royal family outside of history textbooks.

I only know some superficial information about the late Queen, such as her stepping into her role as the Queen of the United Kingdom at the age of 25 and thus reigned until her death at 96 years old. The former queen has been hailed as the nation’s mother and one of the most steadfast and longest reigning monarchs, which sounds impressive if viewed from a colonizer’s perspective.

However, I am interested in what others think and feel about the death of the former queen. An article written by Isaac Kaledzi reports the reactions that people have towards the late Queen. Hardi Yakubu is a pan-African activist who views the late Queen and the monarchy as “a symbol of exploitation and repression of people” across the world. Additionally, The Economic Freedom Fighters, a South African opposition political party, claim that they do not mourn the late Queen’s death as it is a reminder of a “tragic period” in their history. But there are mixed views of many more people, even political figures who mourn her death.