King Charles fumes over the Woke Brigade’s honor-busting bids.
King Charles is considering “radical changes” to the system of royal honors, which aim to remove references to Britain’s colonial past.
Under the proposed revisions, the term ‘Empire’ would be eliminated from British honours, allowing recipients of the OBE (Order of the British Empire) to choose alternative recognitions, such as the Order of British Excellence or the Order of Elizabeth, in honor of the late queen, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Officials view the OBE as an outdated title linked to the country’s colonial history, and discussions around these changes suggest a willingness to modernize the system.
A new biography of the king quotes a senior palace official as saying: “Any change is a matter for the government, but I think they would find this place was quite open to the idea.”
However, insiders say the changes have irked the monarch as he returns to fighting at full strength after treatment for cancer. Courtiers have branded the plan as “ultra-woke meddling” and the “last thing he needs.”
One said: “It seems like all the go-gooders are now circling around wanting to consign the British awards system and everything it stands for to history. It’s ultra-woke interference from the left-wing elite who have nothing else to spend their energy on. It’s the last thing the king needs as he recovers from cancer.
This possible review follows increasing pressure from Caribbean Commonwealth countries, which have called on Britain to consider substantial reparations for the historic injustices of the slave trade.
During a recent royal tour of the South Pacific, Charles addressed Commonwealth heads of government in Samoa, firmly rejecting the idea of reparations.
King Charles emphasized the importance of learning history and tackling the complex issues surrounding Britain’s colonial past.
At a recent meeting with Commonwealth leaders in Samoa, he said: “None of us can change the past, but we can work wholeheartedly to learn its lessons.”
He underlined the need for the Commonwealth to engage in open and respectful discussions on these challenging issues, emphasizing the collective commitment to tackling historical injustice.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has made it clear that the government will not pursue reparations for slavery, signaling a strong stance on the issue amid ongoing conversations within the association over the legacy of colonialism.
Several figures have previously been denied honors over the word empire, such as British actor Alan Cumming who returned the OBE he won last year in 2009 due to its association with the “toxicity of empire”.
In 2003, British poet Benjamin Zephaniah wrote, after being denied an OBE: “Me? I thought, ‘OBE me? Yours.’ I get angry when I hear that word ’empire’; it reminds me of slavery, it is reminiscent of thousands of years of cruelty.”
Charles, while Prince of Wales, spoke during a visit to Barbados in 2021 about the “appalling cruelty of slavery, which will forever color our history”.