Remembering… auld lang syne

Well, well, well!! After 60 years of independence, quite a lot of Guyanese are all a-titter about the upcoming visit of King Charles III and Queen Camilla!! Looks like we face one of the great constitutional and cultural challenges of our time: how to behave when the King and Queen grace our presence!! While the authorities have been stressing the “King’s Foundation” input into our Georgetown Urban Framework Plan, Buckingham Palace, meanwhile, announced the visit is part of “Their Majesties’ Autumn Tour”!! Yep… Now you know why our modern royalty in show biz have their “tours”!!
The excitement is understandable. We’ve spent six decades as a proud independent republic, but clearly that hasn’t quite cured us of the colonial reflex of wanting to dust off the silverware when the British royal family is coming!! Hey… They ruled us for over 200 years, okay?? So some Guyanese are wondering: Do we bow? Do we curtsey? Do we shake hands? And, most importantly, who goes first? Remember Granger bowing so low when he met Charles’s mother, Queen Elizabeth, his head almost touched the floor??
So the younger generation clearly needs a crash course in royal etiquette. Older Guyanese like your Eyewitness are discovering that all those childhood lessons about “good manners” have finally found their moment!! There may even be frantic consultations about whether “Good morning, Your Majesty” is sufficient or whether one should add a carefully calibrated inclination of the head to demonstrate that one hasn’t been corrupted the last 60 years by living in a republic!!
Protocol officers will presumably be working overtime to coach our officials!!. Like explaining that the King is addressed as “Your Majesty” on first meeting and “Sir” thereafter!! Someone else will be warning Ministers not to turn their backs too abruptly. And there will certainly be somebody whispering, “Don’t touch the Queen unless she offers her hand. “ Your Eyewitness can imagine some of them practising in front of mirrors: “Your Majesty… Your Majesty… Your Majesty”!!
But perhaps we should put all this pomp and ceremony into perspective. Britain may’ve given us parliamentary traditions, cricket, afternoon tea, and an impressive vocabulary for saying “no” without actually saying no!! But today, they need us in the former colonies more than we need British imperial nostalgia!! The delicious irony is Charles actually is pushing the Commonwealth – which they head – with visits to the Bahamas and Antigua, where there’s gonna be a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting!!
So let’s welcome Their Majesties warmly and display our famous Guyanese hospitality – and perchance practise our royal waves!! But let’s remember this is 2026, not 1926. The King’s coming to an independent Guyana—not a British colony awaiting instructions from London!
Don’t bow so low that you forget that!!

…GT’s founding
Even as King Charles III’s visit hopefully gives a fillip to his Kings Foundation efforts to return GT to its old place in the empire as the “Garden City”, the Mayor and City Council had already launched their celebrations on the founding of Georgetown!! Under the theme “Georgetown 184: Rooted In Heritage, Growing Green, Shaping Tomorrow”, they’re stressing that while the Brits actually founded the original settlement in 1781, it wasn’t actually given “city” status till 1842.
Between the founding and the city status, the French had seized control in 1782 and named the town La Nouvelle Ville. The Dutch regained control in 1784 and renamed the town Stabroek. Finally, in 1812 the British returned and dubbed the area “Georgetown” in honour of King Charles’ ancestor (mad) George III and finally gave it city status on Aug 24ust, 1842!!
Now with all the M&CC hoopla and parade – and you can be sure they’ll be demanding to meet King Charles and Camilla to curtsy!! – Shouldn’t they focus on cleaning THEIR city??

…meeting protocols
Like true British subjects, the Opposition – Sanction Man’s WIN and Norton’s APNU – insist on placing form over substance!! After two days, they still don’t have no agreement on HOW to conduct their meetings!!
Who curtsies first??