Public commemorations of the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022 became a global media spectacle. But how was her death received by the people of Hong Kong, a crown colony from 1842 to 1997, in the 11 days between the announcement of her passing and the state funeral?

The public commemorations in postcolonial Hong Kong deserve attention for at least two reasons. One, it was the first time since the imposition of the draconian Hong Kong National Security Law that the state temporarily tolerated a public gathering akin to an assembly and expression of implicit political sentiment, and two, it reignited debates about decolonisation in the city.