Media engage Hewitt during Queen’s Platinum Jubilee

Barbados’ former high commissioner to the United Kingdom, Guy Hewitt, says he was caught by surprise with the media engagements surrounding the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee to commemorate Elizabeth II’s 70 years on the throne over the weekend.

Commonwealth realms celebrated this milestone with church services, exhibits, street parties, parades and concerts. The United Kingdom declared a four-day weekend celebration beginning on June 2, the date of the Queen’s coronation in 1953.

In an interview with Barbados TODAY, the former diplomat indicated that his interactions with the media over the holiday weekend including with BBC World, BBC Newsnight and Times Radio, had a specific purpose “to give credit where credit is due.”

“While I am sympathetic to a growing republican sentiment, there is need to use the occasion to be appreciative of the role of the Queen both as our former head of state and as head of the Commonwealth,” Hewitt stated.

He noted that international affairs commentators found it extraordinary for nations that sought their independence from the UK (some fighting for it), would choose to remain within a network that resembled the former British Empire.

He suggested that a key reason was the Queen’s understanding, in her role as the head of the modern Commonwealth, that the “family of nations” was a multiracial and multinational association, and unlike many other European leaders in the post-colonial era, sought to avoid redundant ideas of imperial loyalty or Anglo-Saxon superiority.

“Instead, the Queen emphasised a shared history, ideas, and values. Although the Commonwealth’s ties to the former ‘mother country’ were eroded by decolonisation and globalisation, the umbilical cord that linked states constitutionally to the monarchy was transformed by her astute and congenial headship to a new context of collaboration and coexistence,” he said.

Hewitt also highlighted the Queen’s unswerving commitment to the Commonwealth, notwithstanding the British government’s indifference at times towards the institution and sometimes, its outright opposition to it.

Late Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher once strenuously opposed the Commonwealth-led global trade embargo and antiapartheid struggle against the then racist South African regime.

Hewitt advised the BBC that Barbados becoming a republic was not an antimonarchist stance, but the natural progression of the nation’s journey to self-determination. However, while noting the comments from several Caribbean realms regarding their aspiration to becoming republics, he was aware that many required a referendum which could complicate these ambitions.

Hewitt also recommended that countries be more thorough in their approach to becoming a republic so that it is a meaningful, social, political and constitutional journey more substantive in nature than the cosmetic changes that have occurred in Barbados to date.

Regarding the future of the Commonwealth, Hewitt was optimistic.

“The existential threat that faced the Commonwealth if the Crown had passed without succession to its headship being resolved, thankfully was addressed at the 2018 Commonwealth summit in London.

“At that meeting, Prince Charles was confirmed as the future Head of the Commonwealth which gave the institution the continuity that was necessary to safeguard its future,” he said.

Hewitt supported Prince William’s position that in the future someone other than a member of the Royal family might be head of the Commonwealth but saw the inherent challenges of having an open selection process.

However, he also suggested the possibility that by then the Commonwealth may no longer need a “head”, as was suggested at a recent symposium on the Commonwealth but led instead by a rotating head of government as chairperson, supported by an effective Secretary-General.

In 2015, Queen Elizabeth II became the longest reigning monarch in British history, surpassing the reign of her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria. During her reign she met 13 of the 14 Presidents of the United States.

Commonwealth realms are those sovereign states that have the Queen as their monarch and head of state: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and the United Kingdom.

Hewitt has been a regular commentator on Commonwealth matters since his leadership during the Windrush Scandal.

The scandal saw thousands of West Indian-born, long-term British residents discriminated against by the UK government: some lost jobs, some lost state benefits including pensions and healthcare, while others were detained and a number deported.

Highly disappointing for Hewitt, is that the matter of compensation for the Windrush Scandal wrongdoing remains largely unresolved.

In a light-hearted moment, Hewitt, who is visiting London where his son and daughter reside, shared that following the interviews a former diplomatic colleague still serving in London jocularly remarked that he is “reassured to have the old sheriff back in town.” (WG)