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After seven decades on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II is widely viewed in the U.K. as a rock in turbulent times. But in Britain鈥檚 former colonies, many see her as an anchor to an imperial past whose damage still lingers.

So while the U.K. is celebrating the queen鈥檚 Platinum Jubilee 鈥� 70 years on the throne 鈥� with pageantry and parties, some in the Commonwealth are using the occasion to push for a formal break with the monarchy and the colonial history it represents.

鈥淲hen I think about the queen, I think about a sweet old lady,鈥� said Jamaican academic Rosalea Hamilton, who campaigns for her country to become a republic. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not about her. It鈥檚 about her family鈥檚 wealth, built on the backs of our ancestors. We鈥檙e grappling with the legacies of a past that has been very painful.鈥�

The empire that Elizabeth was born into is long gone, but she still reigns far beyond Britain鈥檚 shores. She is head of state in 14 other nations, including Canada, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and the Bahamas. Until recently it was 15 鈥� Barbados cut ties with the monarchy in November, and several other Caribbean countries, including Jamaica, say they plan to follow suit.

Britain鈥檚 jubilee celebrations, which climax over a four-day holiday weekend starting Thursday, aim to recognize the diversity of the U.K. and the Commonwealth. A huge jubilee pageant through central London on Sunday will feature Caribbean Carnival performers and Bollywood dancers.

But Britain鈥檚 image of itself as a welcoming and diverse society has been battered by the revelation that hundreds, and maybe thousands, of people from the Caribbean who had lived legally in the U.K. for decades were denied housing, jobs, or medical treatment 鈥� and in some cases deported 鈥� because they didn鈥檛 have the paperwork to prove their status.

The British government has apologized and agreed to pay compensation, but the Windrush scandal has caused deep anger, both in the U.K. and in the Caribbean.

A jubilee-year trip to Belize, Jamaica, and the Bahamas in March by the queen鈥檚 grandson Prince William and his wife Kate, which was intended to strengthen ties, appears to have had the opposite effect. Images of the couple shaking hands with children through a chain-link fence and riding in an open-topped Land Rover in a military parade stirred echoes of colonialism for many.

Cynthia Barrow-Giles, professor of political science at the University of the West Indies, said the British 鈥渟eem to be very blind to the visceral sort of reactions鈥� that royal visits elicit in the Caribbean.

Protesters in Jamaica demanded Britain pay reparations for slavery, and Prime Minister Andrew Holness politely told William that the country was 鈥渕oving on,鈥� a signal that it planned to become a republic. The next month, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston聽Browne told the queen鈥檚 son Prince Edward that his country, too, would one day remove the queen as head of state.

William acknowledged the strength of feeling and said the future 鈥渋s for the people to decide upon.鈥�

鈥淲e support with pride and respect your decisions about your future,鈥� he said in the Bahamas. 鈥淩elationships evolve. Friendship endures.鈥�

When then Princess Elizabeth became queen on the death of her father King George VI 1952, she was in Kenya. The East African country became independent in 1963 after years of violent struggle between a liberation movement and colonial troops. In 2013, the聽British government apologized for the torture of thousands of Kenyans during the 1950s 鈥淢au Mau鈥� uprising and paid millions in an out-of-court settlement.

Memories of the empire are still raw for many Kenyans.

鈥淔rom the start, her reign would be indelibly stained by the brutality of the empire she presided over and that accompanied its demise,鈥� said Patrick Gathara, a Kenyan cartoonist, writer and commentator.

鈥淭o this day, she has never publicly admitted, let alone apologized, for the oppression, torture, dehumanization, and dispossession visited upon people in the colony of Kenya before and after she acceded to the throne.鈥�

U.K. officials hope countries that become republics will remain in the Commonwealth, the 54-nation organization made up largely of former British colonies, which has the queen as its ceremonial head.

The queen鈥檚 strong personal commitment to the Commonwealth has played a big role in uniting a diverse group whose members range from vast India to tiny Tuvalu. But the organization, which aims to champion democracy, good governance and human rights, faces an uncertain future.

As Commonwealth heads of government prepare to meet in Kigali, Rwanda, this month for a summit delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, some question whether the organization can continue once the queen鈥檚 eldest son, Prince Charles, succeeds her.

鈥淢any of the more uncomfortable histories of the British Empire and the British Commonwealth are sort of waiting in the wings for as soon as Elizabeth II is gone,鈥� royal historian Ed Owens said. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 a difficult legacy that she is handing over to the next generation.鈥�

The crisis in the Commonwealth reflects Britain鈥檚 declining global clout.

Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth under its authoritarian late President Robert Mugabe, and is currently seeking readmission. But many in its capital of Harare have expressed indifference to the queen鈥檚 jubilee, as Britain鈥檚 once-strong influence wanes and countries such as China and Russia enjoy closer relations with the former British colony.

鈥淪he is becoming irrelevant here,鈥� social activist Peter Nyapedwa said. 鈥淲e know about [Chinese President] Xi [Jinping] or [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, not the queen.鈥�

Sue Onslow, director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London, said the queen has been the 鈥渋nvisible glue鈥� holding the Commonwealth together.

But she says the organization has proven remarkably resilient and shouldn鈥檛 be written off. The Commonwealth played a major role in galvanizing opposition to apartheid in the 1980s, and could do the same over climate change, which poses an existential threat to its low-lying island members.

鈥淭he Commonwealth has shown a remarkable ability to reinvent itself and contrive solutions at times of crisis, almost as if it鈥檚 jumping into a telephone box and coming out under different guise,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hether it will do it now is an open question.鈥�

This story was reported by The Associated Press.聽Cara Anna in Nairobi, Kenya, Alex Turnbull in Paris, and Andrew Meldrum in Johannesburg, contributed to this report.