It has been a little over a month since the British Monarchy; King Charles and Queen Camilla visited Kenya. With the commotion around their visit having settled, now would be a good time to take stock of the meaning, impact, and repercussions of their visit to the country.
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A History of the Monarchy in Kenya
Whenever an important dignitary from a developed country, such as a head of state visits Kenya, all attention turns to such an occasion. It was no different when the British monarchy, with the newly crowned King Charles and Queen Camilla, visited the country. Media attention from Kenya and beyond gravitated towards covering the event, even as pundits weighed in to give their weighted opinions on the issue. Nonetheless, it should be no surprise that this high-level visit received this much attention, as this is the case with any visit to the country from such an important foreign dignitary.
This is not the first time that the country has been visited by the British monarchy. The most memorable visit from the monarchy of all was back in 1952 when the then Princess Elizabeth and her husband Prince George spent time in the country. News of King George, Elizabeth’s father passing was passed on to the Princess during her stay in Nanyuki and she had to cut her tour short and go back to Britain, where she was eventually crowned. She also visited the country during her tenure as queen and all in all, the British monarchy has maintained close ties with Kenya over the years.
What’s with the Monarchy?
Why would the visit by the British monarchy be such a big deal? Well, the British monarchy presents many things to many people, and the legitimacy of the monarchy is in itself a polarizing subject. Despite not possessing any constitutional powers, the monarchy’s influence is felt the world over. For those who support it, it is a symbol of British culture and is a unifying remnant from a past era gone by.
The monarchy is also instrumental in sustaining the Commonwealth, a coalition of states that have a shared past of being colonized by Britain. However, critics will claim that the monarchy represents a vile that runs deep within British culture. Especially in the post-Brexit days, many are disgusted by the fact the monarchy continues to live lavishly off the expense of taxes even though it has lived out its relevance.
Has the British monarchy lived out its relevance, one may wonder. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has operated as a republic for centuries gone by, with a fully-fledged and democratically elected government that is responsible for running the day-to-day affairs of the country. The monarchy cannot exercise any political power over the country and it should not get in the way of important decision-making.
That said, however, it maintains a very close alliance with the government. Even the Prime Minister of Britain holds a ceremonial position within the monarchy. Gone are the days of Oliver Cromwell, the monarchy seems to be getting stronger now more than ever.
Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert are credited with the modernization of the monarchy into what it is today. Her reign as queen managed to transform the royal family to becoming a tool of celebrity status as opposed to being a relic of the old power systems of the kingdom. Victoria and Albert were arguably, the first ‘celebrity couple’ in history, as their openly romantic marriage was highly publicized in the public domain and her personal life garnered the interest of everyday people in the public domain.
Queen Victoria’s impact on the monarchy can be felt to date as the British Royal Family garners a lot of interest the world over, especially in today’s era of social influence. The recent coronation of King Charles was followed closely the world over as about 400 million people globally tuned in to watch the event.
On the Kenyan Visit.
However, of particular interest during the visit to Kenya was the speech in which the King spoke of his deep regret for the abhorrent acts of violence enacted by the British authorities during Kenya’s struggle for independence. Many experts do not consider this as him giving a formal apology on behalf of Britain, as that would necessitate other acts of compensation such as paying reparations, something which Britain is not too keen on. Much unlike his predecessor, King Charles has been willing to ‘face the demons’ and address the ‘controversial issues from Britain’s past’.
Nonetheless, his speech faced a lot of backlash back home, with several pundits being of the opinion that his sentiments were uncalled for. Nonetheless, despite this pushback, particularly from conservative British media, the royal family sees this trip to Kenya as a resounding success.
Were the sentiments of the King of any importance? Do they in any shape or form make up for the atrocities that were committed by the colonialists during Kenya’s struggle for independence? Why apologize now? Does this remorseful act come from attempts to clothe the anterior motives of those perpetrating the act? Can we trust the monarchy to be honest and truthful about the true intentions of its actions?
Kenya, like any other country from the developing world, should find it hard to trust the very same powers that were responsible for dominating and plundering the country for its resources and oppressing its citizens at the same time. Granted, the colonial rule brought many advancements with it, it opened up the developing world to the rapidly expanding European civilization.
The colonial masters built much of the infrastructure that many African countries, in particular, rely on. Nonetheless, that does not justify the systemic and oppressive manipulation undertaken by the colonial powers, especially given that many African countries are still stuck in a perpetual circle of neo-colonial administration.
Closing Thoughts.
Britain remains one of Kenya’s closest allies in the global political arena. In an era where the world is becoming increasingly globalized, developing countries have to strike a balance between maintaining strong ties with the global powers while at the same time, striving to become independent of their influence. When the British monarchy landed in Kenya, some claimed that it was a case of the ‘landlord visiting his tenants’ given the auspicious welcome that the King was accorded.
Perhaps that is the mentality that the country needs to break out of, that we in the developing world can learn to live independently of the control and influence of global powers.
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