A petition has been lodged online calling for a redesign of Queen Elizabeth's royal badge. Apparently, the symbol showing St. Michael trampling on Satan by the neck resembled how George Floyd died and it is offensive to some people.
Nearly 7,500 have signed the petition on Change.Org where some expressed that the badge is "racist." They want the medal to be redesigned "in a more appropriate way" and they also want an apology for the offensive image.
The royal badge was designed for the Order of St. Michael, which King George III, Queen Elizabeth's great, great grandfather founded in 1818. Today, the badge is used to recognize the Commonwealth and the recipients of the Knight or Dame Grand Cross (GCMG), the Knight or Dame Commander (KCMG or DCMG) and Companion (CMG). According to Insider, Queen Elizabeth wears the badge during official royal ceremonies.
But disregarding its historical context, the Order of St. Michael badge apparently looks like the way Floyd died at the hands of the cops. Floyd is the Black American whose death triggered the wave of protests in the United States against police brutality.
According to a Nigerian British activist, Bumi Thomas, the image in the badge is a literal depiction of what is happening to Black people for centuries. Thomas told The Guardian that this has been the construct from the 16th century and it could be the most accurate depiction of institutional racism.
Even the founder of Operation Black Vote, Sir Simon Woolley, said that the badge is appalling. He said that without the horns and tails in the image of what was supposed to be Satan, then it looks more like a Black man than anything.
Buckingham Palace does not have any comments about the petition. The U.K. Cabinet Office also have no comments on the matter.
Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth was voted the most distinguished royal in a survey from the Royal Vegas Casino. Her Majesty is number one in the list based on her net worth, her education, her length of reign and the size of her castles.
Closely following the Queen is her grandson Prince William but the list also includes the Malaysian King Abdullah, King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand and Prince Albert of Monaco.
Queen Elizabeth is the longest reigning monarch alive today with 68 years to the throne. The second longest living monarch is Queen Margrethe of Denmark, who has been reigning for 48 years.
The Queen, however, is not the wealthiest royal. That distinction goes to the Thailand King whose net worth is, reportedly, $30 billion.
