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When King Charles is in Kenya a few days from now, he plans to do some of the things he usually does on his trips at home or abroad: check out local conservation efforts, meet young people, promote entrepreneurship.
But Charles’s first visit to a Commonwealth country as monarch will also, as Buckingham Palace said, “acknowledge the more painful aspects of the U.K. and Kenya’s shared history,” which includes the violent and bloody Mau Mau uprising in the 1950s.
In doing so, Charles may send further signals about how the monarchy will try to answer critical questions it faces amid a broader reckoning in our world with history and the impacts of colonialism.
The Mau Mau uprising is seen as a key turning point in Kenyan history and a significant step on the country’s road to independence from British rule in 1963.
The possibility that Charles may make a statement on the Mau Mau uprising may show other countries “that the U.K. can address issues from its colonial past,” said Craig Prescott, a constitutional expert and lecturer in law at Royal Holloway, University of London, in an interview.
“Of course, that might be more difficult in a Commonwealth realm where you still have the Crown in whose name arguably these things were done.”
But doing it in an independent Commonwealth country “avoids all of that entanglement,” said Prescott, and “might show a clearer way ahead of how actually, if you do want to become a republic, it’s perfectly fine and actually, it doesn’t necessarily mean the end to royal involvement or the end to the U.K.’s relationship with that country.”
Carolyn Harris, a Toronto-based royal author and historian, will also be listening closely to what Charles says during the trip, which will take him and Queen Camilla to Kenya from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3.
“The wording of King Charles III’s official speeches in Kenya will be significant,” Harris said via email.
If, beyond an acknowledgement of “the painful aspects of the past relationship between the United Kingdom and Kenya,” there is a formal apology, Harris said, “that may set the tone for a future apology for the British Crown’s role in transatlantic slavery.”
Charles has, Harris noted, already expressed support for further research concerning the Crown’s role in the history of transatlantic slavery. Three months ago, another monarch, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, formally apologized for the Netherlands’ role in slavery, she added.
Evelyn Wanjugu Kimathi, a daughter of Dedan Kimathi, one of the leaders of the Mau Mau uprising, told the AFP news agency there was hope that Charles will bring “a national apology.”
“Once we have the goodwill from the U.K. government, everything else will be OK,” she said.
While Charles will be reflecting on that history, there is also the sense that the visit is in ways looking ahead, and continuing a post-Brexit trend in British foreign policy that seemed to emerge with his recent visits to Germany and France: putting forward a view of the U.K. as a country that may have left the European Union, but has not left Europe, and continues to try to reinforce its place on the world stage.
“The U.K. must maintain its presence in Africa … in broad terms,” said Prescott. “It’s the 60th anniversary of Kenya having independence from the U.K., and so to tie it in with an anniversary makes sense.”
Prescott sees another potential British foreign policy concern the visit could address: countering worry that Chinese investment in Africa may be a way of China extending its influence into the region.
“So [the visit] ties in with the U.K. and other countries from the West maintaining their presence in Africa and maybe deepening it.”
Beyond foreign policy implications, the visit could have personal resonance for Charles. He’s been to Kenya four times, and it’s the country where in 1952 his mother, then Princess Elizabeth, learned her father had died and she had become Queen.
“There is a symbolic significance to Charles III visiting Kenya for his first Commonwealth tour as King, honouring the late Queen’s life and legacy,” said Harris.
Elizabeth learned she had become Queen at the Treetops hotel, and media reports since Charles’s visit was announced have been quick to point out Charles won’t be going there this time.
Prescott thinks it’s interesting that planners for this visit “resisted the temptation” for Charles to visit Treetops.
“I think that shows that there’s a focus on trying to use these state visits for more substantive purposes.”
Prescott said he thinks they “have to be careful to avoid just constantly being in the shadows or the footsteps of Elizabeth II.”
“Whilst it might have been a nice thing to go [to Treetops], the purpose of state visits is always a little bit looking backwards, but also looking forwards, and it is about getting that balance right.”
Sophie’s fight for sight
Speaking of royal trips to Africa, another member of the family was on the continent recently, continuing her longstanding work on issues she has focused on for several years.
In a considerably lower-profile visit than what will unfold when Charles is in Kenya, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, went to Ethiopia.
Sophie has “travelled extensively in support of global health charities and women’s welfare, previously visiting Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” Harris said.
This time, Sophie was doing the same thing, marking World Sight Day and focusing particularly on efforts to address avoidable blindness.
Sophie serves as global ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, and met with health workers screening people and treating them for blinding trachoma.
“So much has been achieved both here in Ethiopia and around the world,” Sophie said in a post on the Royal Family’s website. “But now is the time that we must all redouble our efforts if we are to achieve our aim of eliminating trachoma by the year 2030, which is a mere six years away.”
Sophie’s efforts on this issue are an “example of precisely the sort of work that the Royal Family can do, in that it is a totally uncontroversial issue,” said Prescott.
“Combatting blindness is undoubtedly a good, but it is perhaps unheralded and not something that maybe many people have thought about in the same way as access to clean water has been, or education for girls in some countries.”
Sophie has also had a longstanding interest in supporting women affected by conflict-related sexual violence and gender-based violence. In the Tigray region, she observed the work UNICEF is doing in connection with that.
The Ethiopian trip was much in keeping with the pattern of other visits made by Sophie and her husband, Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, particularly during their time as Earl and Countess of Wessex.
Both independently and together, they have made frequent visits throughout the Commonwealth in support of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards and health charities.
“These visits are comparatively low-profile in the media but very meaningful to the people who have their efforts and concerns acknowledged by the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh,” said Harris. She noted a visit by Edward earlier this year to Toronto, where he presented Duke of Edinburgh awards and met members of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.
Sophie became Duchess of Edinburgh in March, when Edward was granted the title Duke of Edinburgh, which had been held by his late father, Prince Philip.
Before the new title, however, there had long been the sense that Sophie’s profile and standing were on the rise.
She’s now seen “as a senior member and very solid member of the Royal Family,” Prescott said.
Along with Edward, Prescott said, in some ways the position they now hold has “opened up for them with the departure of other members.”
Prescott sees Sophie’s longstanding work on issues such as blindness contributing to her stature now.
“I think just that plugging away over time actually does filter through and in a sense … your position and status grows around you.”
The Crown comes back — one last time
Netflix shared a few hints the other day of what’s in store for viewers ahead of the launch of the sixth and final season of The Crown.
The series that has offered a fictionalized version of real-life events that unfolded in the House of Windsor during the reign of Queen Elizabeth will focus this time on the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The season will be split into two parts, Netflix said, with the first four episodes available to stream on Nov. 16. The second batch of episodes will drop on Dec. 14.
Photos from the new season released by Netflix show actors portraying Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi Fayed, who both died after the car they were in crashed in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997.
Since its launch seven years ago, the series has sparked increasing controversy and set off debate about crossing the line between royal fact and fiction.
WATCH | Netflix’s trailer for Season 6 of The Crown:
“The Crown on Netflix has become more controversial as it dramatizes events that are closer to the present day, especially the life and death of Diana, Princess of Wales,” said Harris.
“The more people … remember the actual events dramatized on screen, the more people … have strong opinions about how these events should be portrayed on screen or whether these events should be dramatized at all.”
In recent years, there has been a revival of interest in Diana in popular culture, and Harris says “audiences are interested in how her last months and death will be interpreted by the series.”
For their part, producers of the series speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival earlier this year said they will handle the subject of Diana’s death “sensitively,” the BBC reported.
Other events expected to be part of the final season are Queen Elizabeth marking her Golden Jubilee in 2002; the courtship of the now Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Catherine; and the 2005 marriage of the now King and Queen, Charles and Camilla.
Royally quotable
“Please stay safe. Look after each other. But ultimately thank you so much for the courage and determination you’ve all shown to get yourselves through the season.”
— Prince William, in a recent video call with firefighters from across Canada, in which he thanked them for their efforts following the worst wildfire season on record.
WATCH | Prince William speaks with Canadian firefighters about this year’s wildfire season:
Royal reads
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King Charles made an impassioned plea for religious tolerance and mutual respect, against the background of “international turmoil” in Israel and Gaza. [BBC]
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An entirely redesigned set of U.K. coins will enter circulation by the end of the year, marking the new reign of King Charles and celebrating his love of the natural world. [BBC]
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Charles has named his “biggest regret” about his coronation weekend — and it had nothing to do with the ceremony. [The Express]
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Catherine, Princess of Wales, has said she would “love to be a student again” after seeing how two universities work to support mental health. [ITV]
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As David Sassoon looked back on his rise as a dress designer for clients, including nearly every female British royal, he recalled his first Buckingham Palace fitting — a bridesmaid’s dress for an eight-year-old Princess Anne — and how Diana wanted five maternity coats. [The Guardian]
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Two collections of photographs, one newly updated, reveal how important society photographers such as Cecil Beaton were in establishing the royals as sacrosanct figures. [The Guardian]
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