UK’s diverse communities ambivalent about king’s coronation

King Charles III’s coronation will include Deronne White. The flautist and his fellow young musicians will perform an upbeat “coronation carnival” set of gospel, jazz, grime, disco, and rap in south London’s streets. The U.K. anthem will be calypsoed.

White is pleased about the gig but ambivalent about the coronation. White, like others in the Brixton Chamber Orchestra, is a descendant of Jamaican migrants, a former British colony and Commonwealth member that wishes to dissolve its connections with the monarchy and call for the U.K. royals to face their historical ties to slavery.

“I find it hard to connect to the whole occasion,” he remarked. The coronation may allow people like me to relate to the monarchy. It’s hard, though.”

Officials think the weekend’s celebrations of Charles’ coronation at Westminster Abbey will unite Britain’s varied communities. However, some Brits, especially African-Caribbean and other minorities who still remember the British Empire’s wrongs, view the event with ambivalence.
The royal family has recently faced new systemic racism allegations, most notably from Meghan, Prince Harry’s bride.

Last year, the Duchess of Sussex, a biracial American actress, said an unknown royal household worker had asked her how dark her baby’s complexion may be when she was pregnant with Archie.

Ngozi Fulani, a Black charity administrator, was outraged last year when a close adviser of Queen Elizabeth II repeatedly asked her where she was “really” from at a reception. Susan Hussey resigned when palace officials apologized.

Charles, 74, has often praised cosmopolitan Britain’s variety. He praised Britain’s “Windrush generation”—West Indians like White’s great-grandparents—who rebuilt Britain after World War II. Charles was lauded in 2021 for admitting “the darkest days of our past” and slavery.

For the first time, the queen supported research into the U.K. monarchy’s role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Teigan Hastings, 17, said, “I think he’s definitely trying — maybe not in the best way or the fastest way, but from what I’ve seen, it’s kind of a step in the right way.

But British Jamaican tuba player Hastings said Meghan’s comments about her in-laws “opened up a bit of truth within the royal family.”

“It wasn’t totally unexpected, but you think there’d be some form of acceptance… he stated. “We normal people can only hope for change.”

Whatever people think of Charles, the musicians hope their lively mix of musical styles will lure crowds.

Southall, known as “Little India” in west London, has one of the largest Indian populations outside India, and local MP Jasbir Kaur Anand said British Asians there will celebrate the coronation in their own way.

Anand said 6,000 tickets were sold for a coronation party with a giant TV screen, funfair rides, and Jewish, South American, and gospel musicians.

She will join a street party organized by local ladies with “lots of Punjabi food, Punjabi dancing and singing.”

Anand, whose family moved to Britain from Singapore after independence, said many immigrants of her generation feel grateful to the U.K. monarchy for welcoming them and offering them opportunity to settle and flourish.

Gulu Anand, owner of Southall’s Brilliant curry house, is an ardent admirer of Charles.

In his restaurant, Charles “actually listens to you,” he said. “I think he’s the people’s king.”

Janpal Basran, chairman of local organization Southall Community Alliance, said many local populations are from former colonies and “remember what it was like to be ruled by others.”

“They look at the monarchy, they remember all of the associated historical baggage,” Basran said. People will think the monarchy was repressive, discriminatory, and violent. Should we support this in the future?

Patrick Vernon, a Black activist seeking justice for scores of Caribbean migrants who lost their U.K. citizenship due to a legal gap, said Charles might do more to show his subjects that the monarchy values diversity.

He cited a 2021 Guardian investigation that found the royal household is still immune from race and sex discrimination legislation.

“Charles could be in a unique position to start to actually influence that agenda,” he said. “It’s important to show change, show that we’re different, that we’re moving toward the 21st century.”