South Africans are known for making light of many serious and historical moments, and it wasn’t any different with the news of Queen Elizabeth II’s death on Thursday.
As the world prepared for the inevitable announcement that the longest-serving monarch will be no more, social media went on overdrive to post their thoughts on the Queen’s legacy and her complicated history.
Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday afternoon, following a long battle with ill health since spending a night in the hospital last October.
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Although politicians have sent out diplomatic messages, their condolences to the royal family and the British nation, some public figures weren’t so kind.
The Queen has been a long-standing figure amongst the British royals and is notable the most well-known royal in the world.
As tweets, commentary and memes started flooding many social media apps, our local celebs went on Twitter to react to the overwhelming sense of “celebration” of the Queen’s death. Many argued Queen Elizabeth’s legacy is tainted by colonialism and slavery from her forefathers, as well as having a family history that “enjoyed the fruits of our land” for their own enrichment.
Political party EFF has been praised in some quarters for its honest review of the queen’s impact.
“During her 70-year reign as Queen, she never once acknowledged the atrocities that her family inflicted on native people that Britain invaded across the world, she willingly benefited from the wealth that was attained from the exploitation and murder of millions of people across the world,” the party said.
Celebrities such as Boity and Kaya 959 host Sizwe Dhlomo shared their thoughts, as Dhlomo tweeted: “The Queen literally served her term fully, down to the week! Even got to anoint the new PM. Platinum jubilee & all!”
