Kate Middleton pregnancy: Multicultural community in Britain rallies behind royal birth
theGRIO REPORT - While many black Brits embrace the royal family, historically Commonwealth immigrants have had more complex and ambiguous attitudes towards the British establishment...
With just days, or possibly even hours to go, before the impending royal baby the British press has gone into overdrive.
Over the past few months there have been tons of articles, hours of video and epic photo slideshows exploring every aspect of Kate Middleton’s pregnancy.
So if you believe all the publicity, excitement has reached a fever pitch in the U.K. And with the official due date of July 13th drawing closer things are heating up.
The world’s media, taking no chances, are already camped outside the hospital where the Duchess of Cambridge is due to give birth. In fact, it’s been two weeks since international crews started 24-hour vigils outside the private Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital in London.
But are all Britons truly enthusiastic about the imminent arrival of the future heir to the British throne?
While many black Brits embrace the royal family, historically Commonwealth immigrants have had more complex and ambiguous attitudes towards the British establishment.
Still, George Ruddock, editor and managing director of Britain’s biggest black weekly newspaper, The Voice, says since the Kate and William tied-the-knot in 2011, followed by last year’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, “the outpouring of support for the British monarchy has grown.”
“Many second and third generation children born to Caribbean or African parents regard themselves as British so the news of a royal baby is something which they can relate to,” says Ruddock. “Their parents or grandparents who came over from former British colonies also regard the news as something special because they still have that strong link with everything British.”
“This would have been their home for many years and they see themselves as being British as well as keeping their indentity with their original homelands,” he adds.
Nikola Lashley, an award winning multi-platform journalist from London, currently based in the Caribbean, agrees and Kate and Wills have a wide appeal. She also says a series of events has reignited a sense of national pride.
“It was less than a year ago that Danny Boyle’s spectacular opening ceremony for the London Olympics thrilled the world, and of course Andy Murray just conquered Wimbledon, the first Brit to do so for 77 years,” says Lashley, who is of Caribbean origin.
“So of course a royal baby will only add to that sense of national pride, and I think that goes across the board really whether you’re black or white, if you’re British we’re feeling pretty invincible right now. I mean typically you won’t find many black royalists in the U.K. but Kate and Wills seem to have a much wider appeal.”
Though, Brits most likely to be enthralled by the cute royal couple probably come from two extremes. Those that can only ever aspire to be emulate what Kate and William have, and the well-heeled, who can connect to their privileged lifestyle.
Then there are the in-betweens. “I haven’t been paying much attention and I’m not especially interested,” says Omega Douglas, a U.K. based writer, lecturer and journalist.
“My sister just gave birth to her second child and I’m far too excited about my new niece to be paying attention to a mother I don’t know and a child I’ll probably never know.
“Obviously, as with any new mum and baby anywhere in the world I wish them well, but they are no more or less special than anyone else.”
At the opposite end of the spectrum are activists like Benjamin Zephaniah, a British poet and writer, of Jamaican origin.
In 2003, Zephaniah was offered the Order of the British Empire, one of the highest honors the British monarchy can bestow upon a subject. However, he publicly rejected it.
In a subsequent article in the British broadsheet, The Guardian, he explained his reasons for turning down the offer.
“Me? I thought, OBE me? Up yours, I thought. I get angry when I hear that word ’empire’; it reminds me of slavery, it reminds of thousands of years of brutality, it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers brutalized,” he wrote.
“Benjamin Zephaniah OBE – no way Mr Blair, no way Mrs Queen. I am profoundly anti-empire.”
Though, Ruddock says strong reactions like these are in the minority.
“I would believe that the majority of Black British, African and Caribbean residents would be welcoming the news of the imminent arrival of a new heir to the Monarchy, just like every other British person.”
Follow Kunbi Tinuoye on Twitter at @Kunbiti
