How the Commonwealth reacted to the Queen’s death

Without Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth, there would be no Commonwealth today at all. Long after the organisation had lost its charm for both British progressives, who increasingly saw it as an imperial hangover, and conservatives, dismissive of what they viewed as a grouping of ex-colonials asking for money and making awkward demands, the Queen carried on championing it, sometimes against her own British prime ministers.

But it is impossible if not reckless to speak of a unified Commonwealth reaction to her death. The association’s motley members range from countries where the Queen was head of state, to former British colonies which have adopted other forms of government, to newcomers such as Togo and Gabon, which have never spent a day under British rule. The varied reactions to the Queen’s death in the Commonwealth shows the ambiguity of an organisation originally established to shore up British power, but which has since branched off into other directions.