London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jun 02, 2026

Student who led Oxford vote to ‘cancel’ the Queen as symbol of ‘colonial history’ turns out to be AMERICAN

Student who led Oxford vote to ‘cancel’ the Queen as symbol of ‘colonial history’ turns out to be AMERICAN

The son of a wealthy Washington, DC lawyer and schoolmate of President Barack Obama’s daughters led the vote by a group of Oxford University students to remove the portrait of Elizabeth II to make their common room a ‘safe space.’

Matthew Katzman, 25, graduated from Stanford University and is now a doctoral student in “complexity theory,” British newspapers reported on Wednesday.

As president of the Magdalen College’s Middle Common Room, Katzman had tabled the motion to remove the portrait of the queen from the area, arguing that it is “meant to be a space for all to feel welcome” while the monarch “represents recent colonial history.”


He is the son of commercial lawyer Scott Katzman, whose Washington, DC mansion is worth more than $5.5 million, according to the Daily Mail. Prior to Stanford, Katzman studied at Sidwell Friends School, a prestigious Quaker academy in the US capital that is the school of choice for presidential offspring.

Obama’s elder daughter Malia was a student at Sidwell around the same time as Katzman. Her younger sister Sasha is also an alum, as are Chelsea Clinton, Nancy Reagan, and the children of Richard Nixon and Theodore Roosevelt. Grandchildren of current US President Joe Biden attended the school as well.

The revelation of Katzman’s identity comes on the very day Biden is visiting the UK for the G-7 summit, his first foreign trip since taking office in January. The British government has already condemned the removal of the portrait, through Education Secretary Gavin Williamson.

“Oxford University students removing a picture of the Queen is simply absurd,” Williamson had tweeted on Tuesday. “She is the Head of State and a symbol of what is best about the UK. During her long reign she has worked tirelessly to promote British values of tolerance, inclusivity and respect around the world.”

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson endorsed Williamson’s statement on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Magdalen College’s president Dinah Rose disavowed the removal of the portrait and said the students involved “don’t represent the College,” but said the institution “strongly supports free speech and political debate” and that it will be “safely stored” elsewhere.

The reign of Elizabeth II has seen Britain dismantle its globe-spanning empire – a process that began just a few years before she ascended to the throne in 1952. The handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997 left London with only fourteen overseas possessions, mainly islands and enclaves such as Gibraltar.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Japanese Technology Firm Fujitsu Launches Advanced Artificial Intelligence Tool for Corporate Disclosures
South Africa Officially Launches Nationwide Campaign for Highly Contested Local Government Elections
United Kingdom Commits Additional Funding for Unexploded Ordnance Clearance in Laos
Singapore Announces Stringent New Greenhouse Gas Regulations for Commercial Cooling Systems
Cambodia and Thailand Hold High-Level Border Security Talks at United Nations Headquarters
Myanmar Military Government and China Sign Major Agreement to Upgrade Media and Cultural Cooperation
Knife Attack at Swiss Train Station Leaves Three Injured in Suspected Act of Domestic Terrorism
Transnational Extortion Gang Threatens Canadian Police With Army of One Thousand Armed Operatives
Australia Imposes Forty-Two-Day Quarantine on Cruise Ship Passengers Following Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak
International Monetary Fund Unlocks Seven Hundred Million United States Dollars for Sri Lanka Following Economic Reforms
Australia Launches Record One Point Four Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against Chemical Giant 3M Over Contamination
China and Canada Foreign Ministers Meet in Ottawa in Effort to Stabilize Strained Diplomatic Ties
Indonesia Demands Urgent United Nations Security Council Reform Amid Escalating Global Conflicts
Extreme Weather Patterns Trigger Severe Drought in Madagascar and Destructive Flooding in East Africa
Indian State of Karnataka Faces Political Upheaval as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Abruptly Resigns
Philippines and Japan Reaffirm Defense Ties as Crucial for Indo-Pacific Regional Stability
Norway Joins French Nuclear Deterrence Initiative in Major Shift for European Security Architecture
Global Critical Mineral Alliances Expand as Western Nations Move to Counter Chinese Supply Dominance
United States Imposes Fifty Percent Tariffs on Mexican Steel and Aluminum Ahead of Trade Pact Review
European Union and China Head Toward Major Trade Conflict Over Clean Technology Exports
United States Economic Growth Severely Downgraded to One Point Six Percent as Stagflation Fears Mount
World Health Organization Warns Central African Ebola Epidemic is Outpacing Containment Efforts
United States Treasury Department Conditions Sanctions Relief on Reopening of the Strait of Hormuz
Iranian Air Defenses Intercept and Destroy United States Military Drone Over Bushehr Province
Iranian Armed Forces Launch Ballistic Missiles Toward Unspecified Targets Prompting Regional Condemnation
United Nations Secretary-General Warns Global Order Facing Highest Level of Conflict Since 1945
Israel Issues Sweeping Evacuation Orders in Southern Lebanon Amid Intensified Hezbollah Conflict
Russia Announces Systemic Military Strikes Targeting Ukrainian Defense and Energy Infrastructure
United States and Iranian Negotiators Reach Draft Agreement to Extend Ceasefire and Resume Nuclear Talks
United Nations Security Council Deeply Divided Over United States Capture of Venezuelan President
US and Iran Exchange Direct Military Strikes Amid Fragile Gulf Ceasefire
World Health Organization Warns of Catastrophic Ebola Outbreak in DR Congo
Russia Threatens New Wave of Strikes on Ukrainian Infrastructure and Embassies
Scientists Warn Atlantic Ocean Currents Could Collapse Faster Than Projected
Anthropic Reaches $900 Billion Valuation in Historic AI Funding Round
Washington Imposes Crippling Sanctions on Iranian Maritime Authority
Japan and the Philippines Initiate Strategic Intelligence-Sharing Pact
Microsoft Deploys Autonomous Computer-Using AI Agents to Global Markets
Anthropic Secures $45 Billion Compute Infrastructure Agreement With SpaceX
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Resigns Amid Administration Shakeup
Micron Technology Crosses Trillion-Dollar Valuation Amid Unprecedented Hardware Demand
Canada and Germany Finalize Historic Long-Term LNG Export Agreement
China Expands International Travel Restrictions on Domestic AI Researchers
Japan Approves Sweeping Overhaul of National Intelligence Apparatus
Global Airlines Scramble Logistics as Middle East Airspace Remains Fractured
Japan's Naphtha Imports Plunge 47 Percent Amid Strait of Hormuz Closure
Global Crude Prices Retreat Below $96 as Gulf Tensions Momentarily Ease
Generative AI Outperforms Human Baselines in Landmark Global Creativity Study
NASA Partners With Private Aerospace to Unveil Permanent Lunar Base Architecture
South Korean Equity Markets Surge on Next-Generation Memory Chip Frenzy
×