A United Kingdom narrative location Africa
A United Kingdom is a 2016 biographical romantic drama film directed by Amma Asante and written by Guy Hibbert, based on the true-life romance of Seretse Khama, heir to the throne of the Bangwato Tribe in Serowe – one of many tribes found in then Bechuanaland Protectorate –, with his wife Ruth Williams Khama. David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike portray Seretse and Ruth, respectively.
It was screened at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival, and was the opening film at the 60th London Film Festival.Plot
The film is based on the true story of the heir to the throne of Bechuanaland, Seretse Khama of the Bamangwato people, who studied law in London immediately after World War II. There he meets an Englishwoman, Ruth Williams, whom he eventually marries, despite the protests of both their families and opposition from the British government, which is concerned about relations with South Africa and the stability of the entire region of southern Africa. The National Party government in South Africa fears that the marriage of a black king to a white woman in neighboring Bechuanaland will inspire unrest, as it was in the process of making such a marriage illegal, and demands that the British government prevents the marriage, as do the governments of South West Africa and Rhodesia.
Khama's uncle, the Regent, also asks Khama to end his marriage and instead marry a Bamangwato princess, which Khama rejects. The British administrators use the dispute to argue that the marriage is causing unrest. Seretse discovers that the British have allowed a US mining corporation to prospect for precious stones, and is eager to make sure that, if anything is found, the exploitation of the country's resources should solely be done by the people of Bechuanaland.
Khama wants his people's support and wins their backing, upon which the British government decides to exile him. Meanwhile, Ruth gives birth to their baby and becomes accepted by the local people by "walking the road with them". When the British want to replace the king with an administrator, the tribe refuses to convene the necessary meeting. The British prime minister, Clement Attlee, tells backbencher Tony Benn that Britain needs South Africa's gold and destroying the Khamas' marriage is a price worth paying. Meanwhile, diamonds are found in Bechuanaland and Khama ensures the British government acknowledges their sovereign ownership by the Bechuana people.
Winston Churchill promises, if elected, to lift Khama's exile term of five years, but instead makes it permanent. However, powerful people in London and the US government support Khama's case. Meanwhile, apartheid develops in South Africa and begins to overshadow Bechuanaland as well. Eventually, with the help of pressure from local people, he is allowed to return to Bechuanaland and negotiates its independence from the British. Khama shows his uncle a leaked British government document showing he is qualified to be king, and that British government hostility is based only on opposition from South Africa. A postscript reveals that Khama was elected as the first president of present-day Botswana, that their son becomes the country's fourth elected president in 2008 and that Ruth and Khama are buried together on a hilltop overlooking Serowe village, where they had lived for the remainder of their lives.Themes
The film explores various themes, including love, racism, imperialism, colonialism, and the struggle for independence. The central plot follows the true story of the interracial marriage between Seretse Khama, the Prince of Bechuanaland (now Botswana), and Ruth Williams, a British office worker, which sparked controversy in both Africa and the United Kingdom. It portrays the couple's fight against racial discrimination and the opposition of the British government, who did not want a mixed-race marriage to threaten their colonial interests. Additionally, the film touches on the power struggle between traditional tribal leaders and the need for modernisation in African nations, the tension between loyalty to one's country and personal desires, and the complex relationship between colonisers and the colonised.