Global Britain and the dark side of civility: monarchy and the legacy of colonialism

This article analyses instances of civility and incivility towards the British monarchy at the time of the death of Elizabeth II and the ascension and coronation of Charles III (2022–2023). First, we introduce and unpack the concept of civility, highlighting its three key dimensions: politeness; moral civility; and justificatory civility. Second, we zoom in on specific sets of (in)civility controversies in three areas of the Commonwealth – the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Caribbean – to critically evaluate civil and uncivil responses to the royal transition events by different actors. Third, we show that, due to the potentially oppressive function of civility (especially when the latter embodies legacies of colonialism), uncivil impolite behaviour can sometimes be desirable and help to foster civility in the deeper sense captured by the idea of moral civility. However, we also point out that political leaders and public officials who are in principle critical of established institutions can sometimes find themselves torn between expressing their dissent from those institutions via impolite uncivil acts and abiding by polite civility norms in order to fulfil their positional duties and preserve peace and stability within their political community, a goal that also helps to realise moral civility.