The Last Monarch.

Queen Elizabeth II was the most effective monarch in British history because she oversaw its greatest decolonization. The only way to build on her legacy is to end the monarchy she served.

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In 1956, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal. In doing so, he directly violated the terms of the agreement to end British colonization of Egypt, which would have left the British in control of Egypt’s most valuable resource until 1968. 

Under the direction of Prime Minister Anthony Eden, Britain retaliated swiftly, conspiring with France and Israel to invade Egypt, retake the canal, and sack Abdel Nasser in a coup. They were ultimately thwarted. The U.S. and USSR opposed the maneuver, threatening economic action against the British. In the end, it was Eden, not Abdel Nasser, who was sacked.

So ended Great Britain's 74-year occupation of my ancestral homeland under a queen only four years into her reign. Several sources have reported that Queen Elizabeth II opposed the invasion from the jump, calling Eden “mad.” 

Egypt was just the beginning. Over her 70-year reign, the queen would oversee the decolonization of many more African countries. And that’s why her reign, not by standards of the crown or even her own, but by the standards of justice, is the most successful reign of any British monarch in imperial history. Properly honoring her legacy would mean ending the institution of British monarchy itself.