Robert Hardman

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910 appearances 1 recordings 1 series first heard Aug 2026 last heard 8 Aug

Robert Hardman’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 1 in all, peaking in Aug 2026 with 1.

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TRIGGERnometry · The Truth About the Royal Family with Royal Reporter Robert Hardman · 8 Aug 2026 podcast

Um it's one of the um Mrs.

Thatcher um fell out with the the the Commonwealth famously in the 80s, but the the rest of them they they uh they felt a sort of kinship um and and it was it it did all sorts of good things the Commonwealth.

I mean it I think it was one of the driving forces in dismantling uh apartheid for example in South Africa.

Um and as we've gone on now there's been a sort of change of um of of attitude.

Instead of looking forward and thinking, you know, these countries are uh uh uh are growing and becoming stronger and more independent, now there is a sort of a a rearward glance and saying, Well, hang on, the only reason you're in the Commonwealth is that you were colonized and that this was a bad thing and that this must now be um atoned for.

Um and so you have this reparations debate starting to sort of build.

Uh and it's it it has I think it it's a a very difficult one for both the the the the government, the British government and but particularly for the monarchy to to handle because obviously empire was conducted in the name of the Crown and the Crown there's a direct linear link.

It it did.

I mean i it it happened actually while the just before the Queen died.

It happened at the end of twenty twenty one when Barbados, as you say, uh had been a when when uh w when when the all these former colonies went independent, they were all given uh the the option, you know, what do you wanna be?

Do you wanna be uh a a a a presidency or w do you wanna carry on with the the crowd?

Uh and a lot most actually said

No, we want a president.

We want to stand on our own two feet.

But a lot could see the advantages in having um having the the crown as this sort of, you know, you're you're trying to build a new nation.

It's actually quite useful.

It's quite cheap as well.

You haven't got to start worrying about having a separate residence and all the rest for a president because your head of state pays our own bills.

Yeah.

Uh and there was a very interesting conversation in the 70s, uh, or 80.

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