Briton is the motherland and should milk that for all it is worth. It wont be long before most people recognize that empire is not a dirty word. and the British empire is just now coming into its own. Briton should take pride in its accomplishments, and all Europeans need to find ways to put meaning into their dreary, conformist lives.
I don't think the Britons are really ashamed of their Empire. You see their left decry "American imperialism" but they speak of a different tones when it comes to Joseph Chamberlain. They hate what happens now because they aren't the boss like their grandfathers were.
Britain is the mother of democracy - this is very very important. While I think the monarchy will end in this country when the present Queen passes, I would hate to see the Union Jack disappear from our Southern Cross - for this very reason. Thanks to that heritage six separate colonies, some founded as prisons and some as free settlements, and all with a mix of British Protestants and Irish Roman Catholics, could peacefully come together as one nation - and invent the secret ballot and be among the first to give women the vote.