Australian-Born British Gay Activist Refuses Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Honour
Image: Peter Tatchell
Australian-born British gay activist Peter Tatchell revealed that he had refused an invitation from the organisers of the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations to join the event as a ‘national treasure’.
Tatchell, in a piece in The Guardian, cited his opposition to the monarchy, the royals’ history of “war, colonialism and slavery” as well as the Queen’s refusal to acknowledge her LGBTQI “subjects” as the reason for refusing the honour.
Tatchell said that he was surprised to receive a letter from the organisers inviting him to join the pageant outside the Buckingham Palace on June 5 on the final day of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations “as one of a select group of ‘National Treasures … celebrated, respected and admired people’.”
In a post on social media, Tatchell said that while others including Gary Lineker, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Bill Bailey and Joan Collins accepted the invitation, he turned it down.
Queen Doesn’t Appear To Be Gay Friendly
The activist, who is a supporter of the campaign group Republic, said he turned down the invitation for a number of reasons. “While I doubt that the Queen is a raging homophobe, she doesn’t appear to be gay friendly. As far as I know, the words lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender have never publicly passed the her lips since she ascended the throne in 1952,” said Tatchell.
Responding to defenders of the monarchy, who claim many of the royal staff are gay men, Tatchell said : “So what? Having gay staff wait hand and foot on the Queen is proof of nothing, apart from the fact that she likes well mannered, well groomed male servants.”
Tatchell pointed out that though the Queen is a patron of over 600 organisations, not one is an LGBTQI charity. Her 2014 letter to the London Lesbian & Gay Switchboard on its 40th anniversary was a generic congratulation, without any mention of the LGBTQI work that the charity does.
War, Colonialism And Slavery
Time to move on from this hangover from feudalism. Power, status & wealth should not be inherited by a very privileged royal family. Time to make Britain a mature democracy with an elected low-cost purely ceremonial head of state#AbolishTheMonarchy
FOLLOW @RepublicStaff pic.twitter.com/RKm0rUVmhK
— Peter Tatchell (@PeterTatchell) June 4, 2022
Tatchell said Queen did not visit the victims or the scene of the 1990 Soho gay pub bombing, that killed three and injured 70 others.
“To be ignored for seven decades feels like a deliberate snub,” Tatchell said, acdding, that the “Queen is head of a flawed institution that is out of step with liberal, multicultural Britain.”
He said that the Platimun jubilee celebrations were a gigantic public relation execfrcise for the royals. “The royals are steeped in a history of war, colonialism and slavery. The crown estate derives much of its assets – including properties and some of the crown jewels – from past royal conquest and exploitation,” he added.
In another post on social media, Tatchell posted a photo of Prince William, the second in line to the throne, with a hashtag calling for abolishing the monarchy. “Time to move on from this hangover from feudalism. Power, status & wealth should not be inherited by a very privileged royal family. Time to make Britain a mature democracy with an elected low-cost purely ceremonial head of state,” said Tatchell.
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I’m inclined to agree with Peter Tatchell rather than Kevin Somerville. What gay friends does she have? Being ‘nice’ and ‘caring’ to people she knows personally isn’t the same as actively removing injustice and discrimination.
Frankly, the royals add very little to society in the UK, except tourism, and they add absolutely nothing to Australia. It’s like having the Kardashians in charge. The Queen and Prince Charles dare not express any political opinion or support any controversial cause as the tabloids over in the UK target them relentlessly and the Royals do everything they can to preserve their family privilege, even if that means actually doing less.
Let’s have some self respect here in Australia and have a local head of state, even if the role is ceremonial and heavily scripted for any formal duties such as swearing in ministers and opening, closing and dissolving parliament.
To blame the Queen for the past history of the institution of the monarchy stretching back centuries is not just unfair, it is plainly absurd. Indeed, it could be argued that the current House of Windsor is not in any way responsible for alleged crimes of former Royal Houses anymore than Peter Tatchell is responsible for anything or everything that his past distant relatives did or even people who lived and worked in the same areas, industries or professions that his ancestors did. And who is naive enough to agree that a republican head of state would be “low cost” as he presumes to claim? Plainly silly, very plainly silly.
Peter Tatchell is unrepresentative of the majority of our community. He’s also very wrong about Her Majesty not caring about us. I draw your attention to the many gay Knights like Sir Elton John, Sir Ian McKellen and others who were personally chosen for that Honour by the Queen herself. He could not be more incorrect saying she doesn’t appear to be gay friendly. Personally, I have friendships with members of the Royal family and have been fortunate to meet the Queen several times. She is very caring to her gay friends, and her many gay staff.