In this video, the host (Speaker A) reflects on the intense public vitriol that erupted after Queen Elizabeth II’s death, including extreme accusations that she was a tyrannical monster responsible for genocide. Citing a provocative tweet by Dr. Uju Anya, the speaker explores the moral dilemma of speaking ill of the dead while acknowledging the pain felt by people in former colonies such as Kenya and Barbados. He examines the Queen’s actual constitutional power versus the symbolic weight of the British Empire, noting that many critics blame her for historical atrocities (e.g., 90,000 executions and 160,000 detentions in Kenya). The host also references controversies surrounding the royal family—Diana’s treatment, Prince Andrew’s abuse claims, and Meghan’s experience—to illustrate how the monarchy’s actions fuel polarized opinions. Throughout, he positions himself as a British citizen seeking a balanced, mature conversation, urging viewers to discuss the topic respectfully without cancel culture, while emphasizing that all humans are flawed and that the Queen was both a strong leader and a figure tied to a painful colonial past.
Chapters
Was the Queen a tyrannical monster? Did she exercise power and cruelty? I must admit, I was shocked at the vitriol and hatred that came out against the Queen. And on the day that she died, I thought it was at best distasteful and at worst disgraceful. But apparently hundreds of millions of people believe that the Queen committed mass genocide and was a tyrannical monster. In fact, Dr. Uju Anya tweeted I heard the chief monarch of a thieving, raping, genocidal empire is finally dying. May her pain be excruciating. And I must admit that I was thinking very carefully about doing this video, but actually I think it raises a very important moral dilemma. So please stay with me, it won't take me long to explain this, and I would also love your thoughts. So my initial reaction as a British citizen, not a Kenyan citizen, my initial reaction was, wow, this hatred, this vitriol on the death of the Queen, this is disgraceful, this is disgusting. I thought the hate was extreme, often from the extreme left, and it's ironic that a lot of the hate comes from the extreme woke left. And it reminds me of this Latin phrase, and it translates roughly to 'never speak ill of a dead person.' I was surprised at how much hate came out on my videos about the Queen when I was doing an ode to what I see and perceive and believe to be an amazing woman and an amazing leader. And exactly, Sean, she's someone's mum, she's someone's family member, she's a nation's great leader. So I was shocked, and then I thought to myself, wait a minute, what if I were Kenyan? Like, I imagine that to a blonde-haired, blue-eyed German man, Hitler was probably not as bad as to a Jewish person. And it really challenged me to try and think in a balanced perspective, which isn't easy when it's emotional. But I had many people, especially from countries like Kenya, Barbados, on my lives, my videos here, saying, no, no, no, no, no, she is not this amazing leader that you perceive her to be. For example, when the Queen came into reign, Britain colonized 70 countries. Now my response to that would be, well, she didn't do that. Anyway, that was the case back then, and apparently according to Kenya, 90,000 Kenyans were executed by the British Empire and another 160,000 detained. So I imagine that if you are Kenyan You are probably not of the same viewpoint of the Queen as I am, sheltered in Britain with a powerful British Empire. Now look, can you really blame the Queen? Let's be honest, how much power did the Queen have? I think she's blamed for what she represents and the empire that she led. But she didn't. She only came to power when she came to power, not for the last 10,000 years. And let's be honest, how much power and decision did she actually have over and above the government? Other people have said that they didn't think she treated Diana fairly. Others have said that she overly protected Prince Andrew from the you know, the claims of abuse. So I want you to know that I am prepared to discuss the very difficult, very painful, very topical subjects. I want you to know that I am trying my best to be balanced and look at it from all perspectives and sides, and that's not easy to do when you are naturally— we are all naturally imbalanced. So I'm doing this video to respect that there are all sides, to try and understand all sides, to give us a relatively safe space to discuss. I personally do my absolute best not to speak of people ill the day they die or when they're dying. To me, no matter who they are or what they've done, they're all human. We're all human. We're all flawed. And in many ways, she was an amazing leader. In many ways, she was a very strong woman. Lynn has said here, for example, wrong time to be doing this, actually. Let her family mourn, as this is very disrespectful. Lynn, I don't agree with that. I understand why you would say that because it's very emotive, but all these comments are out there in the public domain. These have all been said. I haven't said them. I haven't started it. I'm responding to it and discussing it and addressing it in a— well, hopefully in a relatively balanced manner. So I'm happy, and I thought about this long and hard, by the way, for a few days. And notice I didn't do it on the day of her death. You know, I paid my respects. I did the ode to the strong leadership qualities that I believe the Queen relentlessly and consistently displayed. But then I was so surprised at how much hate there is for the Queen from people in Barbados, from people in Kenya, from people in those colonized countries. And so then I thought about it, and I thought, well, maybe we can use all this hate and vitriol, because look, some of it is pain in the people, some of it is just hate and vitriol. I don't know if it's really pain from their heritage, but for some it definitely is. Some people have lost family members and ancestors. And I thought, let's have a balanced, mature, adult conversation about this. So I ask you, what's your opinion? And I know that many people love the Queen and many people loathed the Queen. And you know, when you are a strong leader and you are a leader of nations, you probably will be equally loved and loathed. I'm not sure how much of the genocide was single-handedly down to the Queen. I think people are stereotyping the Queen— insert the British Empire going back hundreds of years— and I'm not sure you can lay all that upon a person. And I'm not sure the timing of it is right to do the day they die and saying that may she be in excruciating pain, as Dr. Uju Anya tweeted. But I think it's a worthy discussion. I thank you for tuning in. I thank you for remaining balanced. I would love your thoughts and opinions. A quick summary is that I believed, as a British citizen, the Queen to be a very good, strong role model leader. I commented as such the day she died, and I was very surprised at how many people were speaking very ill of her, especially on her death day. She passed. There was a lot of hate from the extreme left, which I usually dismiss because it's extreme left. But then, you know, many African people— look at Barbados, look at Kenya, look at the colonization. So I started to do my research, and I realized that they were blaming the Queen because of what the British Empire did. And if your country was colonized, I can imagine that It's not such a pleasant experience as, you know, being in the British Empire. So I wanted to look at that and understand that and discuss that, because many people aren't going to have the courage to speak about that because they're going to worry about getting cancelled or getting judged, or they're worried about their brand or their reputation. But these are things we should discuss. How much power does she really have though? Let's be honest, you know, it's more the British government, let's, you know, likely, you know, But anyway, let me know what you think. People think that she overly protected Prince Andrew. People think that her treatment of, say, Diana and Meghan are not great. There are two sides to the story. I would love your thoughts. Thanks for tuning in. That's all I wanted to say. By all means, do have the courage to share this. I chose the title carefully, so it shouldn't get anyone in any trouble. Didn't write genocide in it. And I think that we should keep these discussions open without attacking each other. Personally, I don't think it's great form to speak ill of a dead person. Give it time. That's my personal view, though, and it's easy for me to say. Thanks for tuning in. Let me know your thoughts. And remember this: if you don't risk anything, you risk everything.
