A number of people that are questioning the royal family are being unfairly silenced, including Indigenous rugby player Caitlin Moran.

Critics of Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal family of England, in general, are being silenced in the wake of the Queen’s death. The most recent incident in a line of attempts to suppress critical opinions was the punishment of Indigenous rugby player, Caitlin Moran.

The National Rugby League banned Moran from the league unless she pays 25% of her salary or completes a social media training course. This is a perfect example of how institutions uphold the monarchy/ruling class.

The NRL is giving Moran a “choice” between financial damages and a social media course most likely aimed at pushing Moran to have more of an appeasing viewpoint towards the Monarchist imperial force that committed genocide against her people. The irony in the situation is that the historically genocidal and imperial forces are not being punished but instead the victims who speak out against them.

“An Indigenous rugby star in Australia was punished after criticizing the queen on Instagram. Caitlin Moran must pay a fine of 25% her salary if she does not do social media training.

Australia is the only ex-British colony that does not have any treaty with Indigenous people.”

Here was Caitlin Moran’s original statement:

“Today’s a good f***** day, uncle Luke [country music artist Luke Coombs] announces his tour, and this dumb dog [Queen Elizabeth] dies,” Moran wrote. “Happy f***ing Friday.”

In a statement, the NRL insisted the comments were unacceptable, despite the historical context for the generational resentment.

It read: “Rugby league is an inclusive game and has a proud and strong relationship with many communities. Regardless of any personal views, all players and officials must adhere to the professional standards expected of them and on this occasion the public comments made by the player have caused damage to the game.”

Knights coach Ronald Griffiths defended Moran after the loss to Sydney. He said: “The relationship between Indigenous people and the monarchy is a complicated one. If Caitlin has done something then it will be investigated by the Integrity Unit and we’ll work our way through the process. We’re talking a little bit of negativity with Caitlin, but if we look at we’re she’s come from, in 2017 she wins us the World Cup and does her knee the year after and has probably in the wilderness since then.”

Another incident, happening closer to the Queen’s death, was the assault and detaining of an English fellow named Rory who correctly called out Prince Andrew during Queen Elizabeth’s funeral proceedings.

“Somebody yells out, “Andrew, you’re a sick old man” to Prince Andrew, who is walking behind Queen Elizabeth’s coffin”

“A man has been arrested for heckling Prince Andrew as the royal walked behind a coffin carrying Queen Elizabeth II’s body through the streets of Edinburgh”

“Rory, the protester who was arrested earlier today: “Powerful men shouldn’t be allowed to commit sexual crimes and get away with it””

“Spoke to the protestor who was arrested on the Royal Mile today for shouting abuse at Prince Andrew during the Queen’s procession – his name is Rory, here’s what he had to say:”

“Breaking: Police Scotland have confirmed that the 22-year-old man arrested on the Royal Mile yesterday has been charged with a breach of the peace. He is due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on an undisclosed date”

“Hey Joseph, can you ask the police why they stood by while TWO assaults took place on this kid?”

You might be wondering why so many people were overcome with elation at the death of the Queen but there are many reasons for the resentment towards the Royal family. The monarchy and commonwealth that the Queen ruled over were built upon the imperial efforts that propped up practices such as slavery and the looting of artifacts and wealth from nations across the globe.

Many of those artifacts have yet to be returned even in 2022. One example is the Koh-i-Noor diamond, an artifact that the British Empire stole after the East India Company killed enough Indian people to force them into submission in 1849. The diamond sits in the late Queen’s coronation crown to this day and when Pakistani and Indian officials asked for its return in 2010, British Prime Minister David Cameron had this to say, “If you say yes to one you suddenly find the British Museum would be empty.”

Many of the Historical Royal Palaces such as Kensington Palace, among 93 others, were connected to money earned by slavery and were likely built by slaves. This was investigated by Historian Lucy Worsley, who is the head curator of the Historic Palaces charity.

Kensington Palace was re-modeled by the Stuarts, Worsley points out. “Anything to do with the Stuarts is going to have an element of money derived from slavery within it,” she told the outlet. “Anne’s really interesting because there’s one view of her which is that she brought the nation together and she made it successful.”

“There’s another view, which is that she made it the most successful slave-trading nation in the world and that it was only a coming together if you were a white, well-off bloke,” she added.

On top of the decimation of culture that she participated in, Queen Elizabeth II was also the ruling monarch of England during the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya. The policies implemented by both the Queen and the British parliament directly led to military action that killed more than 11,000 Mau Mau rebels and put over 20,000 Kenyans into concentration camps.

Queen Elizabeth II was the Queen of these nations that had been annexed into the Commonwealth, Queen of her ‘subjects’ who were subjected to torture and wanton imperialist destruction, and many refuse to forgive her for it. The list of atrocities doesn’t end here, but it does illustrate why many are excited about her death.

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine