Dame Floella: Word ‘empire’ must not be consigned to history
‘Aim is to be more inclusive’
CHILDREN’S TV star Floella Benjamin was made a dame yesterday – and was caught up in a debate over the use of the word ‘empire’ in the honours system.
The much-loved former Play School presenter spoke of the ‘wonderful feeling’ in her heart after receiving the honour from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace.
But after actress Thandie Newton and Labour leadership hopeful Lisa Nandy called for the term ‘empire’ to be dropped, Dame Floella said it was important to understand its history.
The 70-year- old – who had greeted Charles with a ‘namaste’ gesture instead of a handshake as a coronavirus precaution – was made a Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for her charity work.
She argued that King George V introduced the honour in 1917 not to celebrate Britain as a conquering power but to be more inclusive. She added: ‘George V said why don’t we have an honour where it could be women honoured, become more inclusive, and more people across the British Empire would also be included, other countries.
‘It’s not just what you think of the British going out and conquering people, George V wanted to make it inclusive. And that’s what it is.’
Dame Floella said it was important to consider how to ‘modernise the word’ but added: ‘It is to be inclusive, not to say, “we are a great thing”.’
Her comments came after Miss Newton, 47, backed Miss Nandy’s calls for the term to be removed from the honour.
London-born Miss Newton – whose father is English and mother from Zimbabwe, formerly the British colony of Southern Rhodesia – was awarded an OBE for services to film and charity in 2018.
The Westworld actress said that, while she was proud of the honour, she agreed with Miss Nandy that the term empire was ‘outdated’.
Miss Newton said her mother was her first thought when the OBE offer arrived. She added: ‘It’s the best thing in her life, to have come from Zimbabwe, worked her ass off, and her pride in being British.
‘Her pride in being accepted when she’d grown up in a colonial environment.
‘So it was really honouring the incredible hard work of my family, who are British, and also the representation of British people as being this modern spectrum of rainbow ethnicities.’
Miss Nandy made her call to remove the word ‘empire’ from OBE honours last month, saying it ‘alienates’ people and doing away with the reference to Britain’s colonial past would help make the country ‘different’.
The MP told a hustings in Bristol: ‘ Why not a choice to provide the Order of British Excellence? Why does the honours system, which should recognise the contribution of our people, shut people out, rather than bring people in?’
Dame Floella, who was made a Lib Dem peer ten years ago and given the title Baroness of Beckenham, was recognised for her services to charity after 40 years of campaigning for young people as well as supporting charities including Barnardo’s and Beating Bowel Cancer.
She said she got ‘a wonderful feeling in my heart’ receiving the damehood and said she was ‘thrilled’ to have got the award from Charles as she was a ‘huge admirer’ of him and his campaigning on the environment.