While this will not be Queen Elizabeth’s first visit to Ireland, it is of note because it will be her first time in the southern part of the country. I will not be welcoming her to either part and here are some of my reasons.
If she inherits the wealth, prestige and powers of the monarchy, the Queen must also inherit responsibility for the crimes of her predecessors. Not guilt; responsibility: she does not deserve to be punished for their crimes, but she is obliged to seek to make amends and to apologise on behalf of the state. If she desires, legitimately or not, to be head of state, she must apologise for that state’s crimes. So far, she has not done so, nor has she indicated any intention of doing so.
For some, this may be an abstract argument, as the victims and perpetrators of those crimes are dead. So let us set it aside for the moment and take into account the crimes which cannot be ignored in the same way: those which were committed in living memory and during the current monarch’s reign. Shortly after Bloody Sunday in 1972, Queen Elizabeth decorated Colonel Derek Wilford, who had been in command of the killers. She has neither apologised nor withdrawn the decoration. For that matter, she has not apologised for Bloody Sunday itself. David Cameron’s apology may well have been sincere and well expressed, but it is for the head of state to apologise for the state’s crimes.
The United Kingdom refuses to cooperate in the investigation into the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. Withholding information which may solve a crime is itself an offence in domestic criminal law and may also be one in international law. In any case, it is not the behaviour of a friendly state. Such hostility should not be rewarded with our hospitality.
If these wrongs were to be righted, perhaps more people would be well disposed to a royal visit. I, however, would not welcome a visit from Queen Elizabeth, or from any monarch. I believe we must continue the endeavour to build a society based on solidarity, equality and reason; and to sweep away the structures that institutionalise hierarchy, violence, deference and greed. Monarchy would be a good place to start. We can’t start by arranging a visit which strengthens rather than weakens this absurd institution.
Finally, there has been a lot of talk of reconciliation and goodwill between Ireland and our neighbours. This is a worthy cause and an urgent one, but it will not be served by our celebrating and legitimising an institution which serves as one of the obstacles to a free, open and equal society for the people of the UK.
