As dawn broke on London this morning, the long line of people moved slowly towards Westminster HallThe oldest building in the British parliament.. Some had been out in the open all night. All looked forward to paying their respects to the Queen they admired and loved.

Today is the first full day of her Lying-in-StateThe display of the coffin of a public figure so people can pay tributes.. People will continue to file past her coffin until Monday morning. Hundreds of thousands are expected.

Across the world, commentators have called her a monarch who crossed political divides. Many have shared tales of her kindness to ordinary people.

But in the US, some have been critical. The say the Queen represented an empire which did nothing but bad. And they hold her partly responsible for its evils.   

One professor, Uju Anya, described her as the head of a "thieving and raping" empire.¹

Another, Elizabeth Kolsky, pointed out that a few months after she became Queen, a rebellion in Kenya was violently put down. Kolsky complained of a "'fairy tale' rendering of the past" that makes her out to be innocent.

But a third, Caroline Elkins, says there is no evidence that the Queen knew of terrible behaviour by the British. She claims, though, that the Queen's niceness helped hide the bad things about the Empire.

Many are shocked by such views. They argue that the Queen played a big part in the success of the Commonwealth. And she brought people together - for example, on her historic visit to the Republic of Ireland.

But others welcome the argument: they see it as a chance to show that Britain's empire had a good side too.

The historian Robert Tombs emphasises its role in stopping the slave trade. He also points out that some countries actually asked to join the Empire, but were turned down.²

Yes: Politics should not be allowed to intrude at a time of grief. We should focus on the Queen as an individual, not as the representative of a system created long before she was born.

No: Respect does not mean the suspension of reason and discussion. This is a fitting moment to consider both the highs and the lows of Britain's relationship with its former colonies.  

Or... More important than the Queen's death is the fact that King Charles's reign has begun. This a time to look to the future rather than the past, and consider what good Britain can do.