海角大神

Flanked by the British flag and a portrait of Queen听Elizabeth, who marks her 60th year on the throne this weekend with a diamond jubilee, Youssef听Siblini poses for his first photo as a Briton and as a subject of the听crown.

Moments earlier Mr. Siblini and seven other immigrants swore an oath听of citizenship to be 鈥渇aithful and bear true allegiance to Her听Majesty.鈥�

For Siblini, an immigrant from Lebanon, the oath of fealty helps bring him听into the fold of his new homeland. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 a good idea to make听you feel that you are English now,鈥� he says. 鈥淪he will become my queen听too.鈥�

Starting tomorrow, Britain kicks off a four-day national celebration听of the queen鈥檚 Diamond Jubilee. The monarchy is riding high levels of听public support even as Britons widely express unease with a sense of听crumbling community spirit. Some link the two sentiments, arguing the听monarchy is one of the few unifiers in a country absorbing large听numbers of immigrants.听

听鈥淭he monarchy signifies the unity and diversity of the British听nation,鈥� says Phillip Blond, director of ResPublica, a think-tank in听London working on social cohesion. 鈥淪he鈥檚 not white people鈥檚 monarch.听She鈥檚 the monarch of all the British people and all the British听legacies and dominions.鈥�

Over the 60 years of Queen Elizabeth鈥檚 reign, Britain鈥檚 overseas听empire finished breaking away, but the British Isles themselves grew听far more diverse. Net immigration, once as low as 48,000 in 1997, shot up to a quarter of a million by 2010.

听Polls show the public has grown uneasy with the pace of immigration听and its impact on social cohesion. A 2011 YouGov poll found 88 percent听of British respondents agreed that immigrants who are unable to speak听English or unwilling to integrate have created 鈥渄iscomfort and听disjointedness鈥� in Britain.

As in many parts of Europe, multiculturalism is losing ground to听greater assertions of a national set of values and heritage.听For many critics of the monarchy, the need for a unifying symbol听appears neither urgent nor best served by a hereditary office.

鈥淧eople will find something to rally around whether it鈥檚 the sports听teams 鈥� or [actor] Stephen Fry,鈥� says Graham Smith, head of Republic,听an anti-monarchy advocacy group. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 need to allow these peoples听[royals] to co-opt all that in order for their own personal gain.鈥�

His group advocates adopting the Irish model, where there is an听elected but largely ceremonial head of state. He points to former听president Mary McAleese who, as the first president born in Northern听Ireland, helped bridge sectarian divides and unify the Irish people.

鈥淭he process of electing her helped the Irish citizens to reflect on听who they now were,鈥� says Mr. Smith.

British officials from across the political spectrum have increasingly听encouraged reflection on what it means to be British. Under former Prime Minister Tony Blair, the government created the group citizenship ceremony in 2004 from what听had been a solitary bureaucratic process of saying an oath before a
solicitor.

鈥淚t鈥檚 that idea that people from such different and diverse听backgrounds will have this in common, and to give people a bit of听pride. It鈥檚 a life event to have this ceremony,鈥� says Bryony Aldous, a听local official in the south London borough of Southwark.

She officiates the short ceremony in a cozy hall that opens out onto a听garden. Before her stand the eight would-be citizens and, off to the听side, their families, holding plastic Union Jacks. She gives a short听talk that鈥檚 explicitly British: noting that tea is waiting in the听back, the weather is uncharacteristically sunny, and sports fans can听rejoice in the Olympics coming to town next month.

She also talks of the rights and responsibilities of British听citizenship, including the right to vote and the responsibility to听take part in civic life. The eight 鈥� from Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Sierra听Leone, Russia, Nigeria, and Lebanon 鈥� swear the oath together, then听sing 鈥淕od Save the Queen.鈥� One by one the citizenship certificates 鈥撎齩nce printed on cardboard, but now just paper due to austerity 鈥� are听handed out.

Smith, of the anti-monarchy group Republican, says would-be immigrants have been put off from听citizenship by the requirement of swearing to the queen.

鈥淧eople have come from countries where they鈥檝e had to fight quite literally for democracy and then they get here and they have to swear听an oath to a hereditary monarch. It鈥檚 quite appalling,鈥� he says.

Siblini鈥檚 wife, British native Yolanda Hill, however sees value in the听ceremony. She says her husband is still struggling to find his place,听six years after first coming to Britain. The recession has made it听hard for him to find work, and his childhood connections are in听Lebanon.

鈥淎nd so I think this [ceremony] is a good way to get settled. And he鈥檚听starting studies in university, which I think is a really good way to听get integrated as well.鈥�