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From Our Own Correspondent: Queen Elizabeth II and the world

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Queen Elizabeth II and the world

10/09/2022 GMT

BBC World Service - From Our Own Correspondent, Queen Elizabeth II and the world

From the Commonwealth to the most ardent republic, the world remembers Queen Elizabeth II

From the Commonwealth country of Canada, to the fifth republic of France, we reflect on how the world is remembering Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Pascale Harter presents stories from Canada, France, South Korea and South Africa.

As Head of the Commonwealth, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II had to negotiate the ever-evolving relationship with its member states as they declared independence and as Britain’s relationship to its former colonies underwent profound change. The British Monarch remains head of state of 14 countries, from Canada to the Solomon Islands. Lyse Doucet is in Ottawa where Canada’s leaders have made warm tributes and reflects back on her own encounters with the Queen.

Despite its anti-monarchist history, one of the more powerful tributes to the Queen emerged from French President Emmanuel Macron. He spoke fondly of her as a ‘great head of state’ and a ‘kind-hearted queen.’ So what was the Queen’s relationship to France? In 1972 Queen Elizabeth famously told former President Georges Pompidou 'we are not driving on the same side of the road, but we are going in the same direction', when he lifted the veto to Britain entering the Common Market. Hugh Schofield reflects on a unique relationship.

The Oscar-winning film Parasite portrays the story of a low-income South Korean family living in a basement apartment. In one memorable scene, the heavens open and floodwater fills the family home. Last month, in a cruel example of life imitating art, Seoul experienced its heaviest flooding in 100 years. Water rushed into homes, trapping residents inside – four people were killed. The city government has since promised to get rid of the basement apartments and create more social housing. But as Jean Mackenzie has been finding out, this offers little comfort to those who live there.

On the west coast of South Africa, there is a large saltwater lagoon in a National Park, around 55 miles north of Cape Town. This marine reserve, attracts numerous water birds and sea life, as the Atlantic waves pound its edge. Antonia Quirke went to explore the lagoon and found something else besides – relics of the region’s rich history along, a generations-old fishing community, and an 18th century map with more style than substance. 

Presenter: Pascale Harter
Producer: Emma Close

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