Britain is celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee amidst an intensifying cost of living crisis and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. The privilege of the monarchy and the national crisis stand in sharp contrast. In Derbyshire, many have been angered by the council putting aside £200,000 to fund its Jubilee celebrations while food bank use in the county increased by 11 per cent in 2020.
Yet, today, we are encouraged to buy decorations and food for Jubilee street parties. I’m personally getting bombarded with adverts for ‘special edition Platinum Jubilee macarons’, retailing for between £20-30. What better symbol of inequality than an expensive, Instagrammable patisserie with a portrait of a hereditary monarch on it?
It is not just that these inequalities are being sharpened alongside the existence of monarchy, but rather that the inequality inherent to systems of monarchy provide the conditions for inequality within wider society. There can be no call for socialist revolution and greater equality without including a call for Republicanism.
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