HOTSPOT
Tonyo Cruz
Former foreign secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. missed the chance to be the last Philippine ambassador to the United Kingdom to present his credentials to Queen Elizabeth II. He would have to do it with the new monarch King Charles III.
That ceremony would most likely be delayed until after the Queen’s funeral.
As of press time, we still do not know if the Philippines would be sending an official representative to the funeral, which many expect would be a big international event with heads of state and government leaders in attendance.
But even without Locsin’s formal entry of appearance as envoy and perhaps even without a special representative at the funeral, our country will have more than adequate representation there. The British embassy in Manila estimates that more than 200,000 Filipinos now live or work in the UK, including around 30,000 health workers, nurses and doctors in the National Health Service.
Filipinos in UK are highly-respected there, especially the health workers who UK media have honored throughout the pandemic.
Just this July, the Queen presented the George Cross to Filipino nurse May Parsons, as representative of all NHS workers, for their service during the pandemic. The award is Britain’s highest civilian honor. It reflects the British public’s love for their health workers coming from our country.
With Queen Elizabeth’s death and the accession of King Charles III, the UK would undergo changes. Its national anthem would be rephrased to “God Save the King.” Images of Elizabeth II would be phased out in favor of Charles III’s in coins, paper money, stamps, seals. From “Her Majesty,” the government, instrumentalities, envoys and documents would be referred to as belonging to “His Majesty.”
Only time will tell whether Charles III will inherit his mother’s immense popularity which had been the biggest challenge to movements seeking to abolish the monarchy and instead turn the UK into a republic. He has not enjoyed such popular acclaim, except when the happy times when he was married to Lady Diana of Spencer.
The Queen’s popularity throughout her long 70-year reign kept republican movements at bay. Her ratings never went down 60 percent, according to The Economist. Perhaps UK republicans could seize the opportunity now and reintroduce the idea of a republic, the abolition of the monarchy, the expropriation of royal landholdings and properties long-exempted from taxes.
Prior to this week’s events, a public opinion poll found that nearly half of Britons want Charles to immediately abdicate the throne in favor of his son William.
Ultimately, the decision would be for the British public alone, and for the publics of the nations bound together as the UK.
Elsewhere, Scotland is eyeing a new independence referendum. The Queen’s death on Scottish soil could be interpreted both ways: the former monarch’s dying wish that it stay in the UK, or the end of an era starting in Scotland.
The demise of the Elizabethan era could also embolden Republican movements and sentiments in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other Commonwealth realms that still recognize the British monarch as head of state. They can always decide to elect one of their own citizens as president. Based on reports, Bahamas could be the first the renounce Charles III.
The wall-to-wall coverage of the Queen’s death on British, American and global television networks is a reminder of the once-mighty British empire.
(“London Bridge is down” is said to be the coded message sent to notify the UK prime minister of the Queen’s death.)