| May 18 |  |
Editor says, the conjecture that the assassination of Queen Victoria might have heralded in a new era of democracy has been suggested by my clever colleagues Robbie Taylor and Eric Oppen. Quite so. But please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect our viewpoints, and the discussion of an alternative outcome certainly is not a justification for the assassination attempts themselves.
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In 2009, on Victoria Day citizens of the former British Empire celebrated the dawn of a new era of democracy which had begun with the Queen's assassination by anarchists (this event is colloquially known in Canada as "May Two-four" being the anniversary of the monarch's official birthday which falls on the last Monday before or on 24 May itself).
The only people not celebrating were the British themselves - since the Plot to Kill Harold Wilson their celebration was May the 8th. As recorded in his 1976 memoir Walking On The Water, Hugh Cudlipp recounts a meeting he arranged at the request of Cecil King, the head of the International Publishing Corporation, between King and Lord Mountbatten. The meeting took place on May 8, 1968.
Republicans Celebrate Victoria DayAttending were Mountbatten, King, Cudlipp, and Sir Solly Zuckerman, the Chief Scientific Adviser to the British government.
According to Cudlipp: "[Cecil] awaited the arrival of Sir Solly and then at once expounded his views on the gravity of the national situation, the urgency for action, and then embarked upon a shopping list of the Prime Minister's shortcomings...He explained that in the crisis he foresaw as being just around the corner, the Government would disintegrate, there would be bloodshed in the streets and the armed forces would be involved. "the Government would disintegrate, there would be bloodshed in the streets and the armed forces would be involved" The people would be looking to somebody like Lord Mountbatten as the titular head of a new administration, somebody renowned as a leader of men, who would would be capable, backed by the best brains and administrators in the land, to restore public confidence. He ended with a question to Mountbatten- would he agree to be the titular head of a new administration in such circumstances?".
Mountbatten most definately did agree1 - he would subsequently launch a military coup to restore the monarchy before the Socialist British Government could disintegrate.
Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
© Today in Alternate History, 2004-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Alternate Nations Source: Wikipedia Labels: Queen Victoria, Harold Wilson, Canada, Great Britain, Republic. Editor says, 1) Walking On The Water records the historical fact that Mountbatten declined the offer, and Cecil King was fired.
~ So where does Elizabeth fit in all of this?
~ Good question.
Some time back, by the way, I saw a BBC prograam, " Very British Coup," which imagineda right-wing coup in Briain following the election of a charismatic left-wing prime minister. The above scenario sounds somewhat similar, although in the movie the monarch was not killed.
~ After Albert's death, Victoria mourned so long and so extravagantly, and neglected her duties so much, that her popularity plummeted. That said, an assassination would have outraged most British public opinion, and ruint the chances of any cause identified with the assassins. Look at what Czolgosz killing McKinley did to anarchism in America.
~ Talk about bad taste, this one pretty much stinks. Victoria was hardly a model of tyranny and power but more a sad old woman given to being a recluse, a powerless figurehead who reigned but did not rule with any power. I would say if some swine were able to assasinate the poor old lady, public outrage would be not just in Britain but around the world.
~ Czolgosz could have died at birth and anarchists would still have been furiously unpopular in the U.S. His killing of mcKinley merly reaffirmed existing views of his ideology.
~ Thanks for your comments and apologies for any offence caused (which was not my intention). Also I would welcome comments on whether a new monarch might change british non participation in the American Civil War e.g. the handling of the Trent Affair etc.
© Today in Alternate History, 2013-. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
