On November 30 (tomorrow), Barbados will officially replace Queen Elizabeth as their head of state. There has been a lot of grumbling from many commonwealth countries, especially the commonwealth countries which still have the British monarch as their head of state (Australia, Canada, etc) Barbados decided to do something about it and they voted in a new elected head of state, President Sandra Mason. There’s going to be a formal handover ceremony in Barbados on Tuesday and it looks like Prince Charles will make the trip. The royals are in their feelings about all of this.
The sun will set on a corner of the British empire this week, as Barbados formally replaces the queen as head of state with an elected president. The monarchy has munificently given its blessing to the departing realm, despite the queen saying she felt “sadness” and Prince Charles, who will attend the handover, admitting to “a twinge of regret” at the turn of events.
Dame Sandra Mason, the governor-general, will be sworn in as president Tuesday.
The Sunday Times quotes a source as saying: “The queen knows the world changes and moves on, Barbados is a symbol of that and she rolls with it. But there will be a tinge of reflection and sadness, as it is severing another link with the past.”
A royal aide said: “As Her Majesty embraced independence and welcomed countries to the Commonwealth, the Prince of Wales’ presence and the message that will be sent to the president from Her Majesty, shows it is a respected decision. They may have moved out of the street but they are still very much in the community.”
A source close to Charles told the paper: “He is sanguine about it—he doesn’t see it as a rejection of him personally but there is perhaps a twinge of regret and a sense that a link is being weakened. As the next head of the Commonwealth, the prince is determined it should be more than an emotional thing; it should be a practical thing that helps countries with issues like trade and climate change. If the realms were all going off to leave the Commonwealth, he’d be desperately sad, but that’s not the case.”
Another source close to Charles said: “He is pragmatic about realms going their own way. But he won’t like the aesthetics if lots more start to follow Barbados.”
The “commonwealth” Charles inherits will be young, multiethnic, multicultural and full of hatred for Salt Island. In truth, many commonwealth countries are only keeping their historic ties to the UK out of respect for Queen Elizabeth. While I don’t think it will be a “free for all” in the commonwealth when QEII is gone, it’s going to be a lot different. More like death by a thousand paper cuts for King Charles, as decades of commonwealth grudges are aired in the first months and years of his reign. There will be some exits, and I do suspect that Australia will remove the monarch as their head of state in my lifetime (and Charles’ lifetime). Still, Charles is handling it the best way – diplomatically, with grace and acceptance. Y’all know someone is sitting in Kensington Palace, incandescent with rage at the thought of HIS colonies leaving.
Photos courtesy of Instar.
Ya broke it, ya buy it. Now please, someone in Barbados ask Charles about Harry and Meghan. Please please please. 1 down, 14 to go??
Harry is loved in B’dos.
yeah, that’s the point! I want Charles’s face rubbed in his poor decisions.
“The Sunday Times quotes a source as saying: “The queen knows the world changes and moves on, Barbados is a symbol of that and she rolls with it. But there will be a tinge of reflection and sadness, as it is severing another link with the past.””
This is so gross and perfectly illustrates the problem. They view the past as glorious and good, – something to hold onto and aspire to – completely negating the negative experiences and outright and ongoing abuses of colonialism. This is a celebration precisely BECAUSE it is severing another link with the past.
Also, calling them ‘realms’? Yuck. As a Canadian, we have GOT to drop this monarchy nonsense.
I live for the day when Canada opts out but it’s going to be a long, complicated process as each province has to have a referendum, and many of our First Nations peoples have separate agreements with the Crown which will have to be negotiated as well.
Couldn’t Canada drop out and let the First Nations people sort out their own thing as sovereign nations?
I was coming here to say this – it isn’t just about loyalty to the Queen. As a Canadian, that process is complicated and would open up our Charter of Rights and Freedoms up for debate. The right wing would take advantage of that by removing the right to universal health care (which isn’t completely universal regarding eye, dental, medicine, and equity), the relationship with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities and Federalism. It would be very risky and I doubt embraced by the centre or left in this country. The Indian Act needs to be repealed but not without Nationhood for all nations, the transfer of the money held in Trust by the Indian Act to each Nation, and Land Back at minimum. There are a some models for land back that include the use of Crown Land, which makes up almost 90% of the land in Canada. That conversation requires a revisit with of the British North American Act because the rights of First Nations were greater between them and the British Crown than with the Canadian government.
I think Canada’s kind of tentative to do that because then they might give Quebecois more momentum behind idea of moving apart as well, when a lot of people in Quebec already wouldn’t mind that.
I really don’t think we’ll bother doing it tbh. More hassle than it’s worth. It would be an incredibly expensive and long process which will only happen if the royals interfere in Canada.
Exactly!! Like, the past of enslaving and murdering Black people?? Nothing to glamorize or be nostalgic over, but this is who these people are. They just wear their masks of respectability and a lot of people love to pretend white imperialism was fun and cool.
Also, maybe they should stop referring to it as the “British Empire,” like they did in the literal first sentence of the article.
Absolutely, evil is what the Monarchy always stood for in terms of murder, enslavement, oppression, abuse of every kind and annihilations of people’s lives and cultures from around the world. It is an utter disgrace and abhorrent. As a Canadian, the monarchy should absolutely be removed and all processes to remove them should be immediately initiated from our government, currency and legal systems.
I think Charles will end up being head of state of the UK only but the commonwealth is very much here to stay in the same way France-Afrique is very much alive despite all african countries being independant and having their own head of state.
@Woke: It’s been already agreed that Charles will take over as Head of the Commonwealth after the Queen dies. The Queen begged the Heads of Government to pick Charles instead of a rotating Head at the 2018 Summit in London. They did it as a favour to the Queen.
Just wow. You mean it makes you sad that the colonized are rejecting their colonizers? Excuse me while i shed NO TEARS.
The British Virgin Islands are moving to end it too. Most of the Caribbean is looking to end the legacy of colonialism and sue to get their money back. African countries have already set the tone of demanding their artwork, jewels and artifacts back and calling on the UN to provide them with the same protections given to yt countries
Jamaica is also reported to be looking at removing the Queen as the Head of State.
I wonder how much just plain apathy keeps the Windsors afloat after QE2 goes. Best I can tell, they have no real impact, good or bad, on the lives of people within the commonwealth. I see people wanting to get out of the Commonwealth but not really acting on it due to other more important things going on than worrying about King Charles.
The British press, at their racist best, has been saying that the influence of China is the reason why Barbados is getting rid of the monarchy and the press is upset that a referendum was not held. I think the press’ position are the true views of the Royal Family regarding Barbados becoming a republic. And suspect that Charles asked Barbados if he could attend the ceremony. Usually, a minor Royal is sent to these events but I think Charles wanted to prove to world his relevance and importance.
I think the Prime Minister invited him when they were in Scotland. Charles is only showing up to give the impression that all is well in the Commonwealth.
Even if they had a referendum, the votes would still go against Britain.
The new President was the Governor General, a Barbadian.
The BBC sent a reporter to B’dos and she asked the Prime Minister about China’s influence in the Caribbean and Africa, who kindly told her that China was big in the US and Europe, why they only worried about the Caribbean and Africa.
That reporter went to B’dos assuming she was talking to an idiot, she had to have read up on her subject and knew she graduated from the London School of Economics.
@Jan: Of course the Prime Minister invited but I’m sure Charles indicated his willingness to attend which resulted in a formal invitation. In diplomacy, there are polite ways of asking to be invited to events.
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This took 55 years, when B’dos gained Independence in 1966 the then Prime Minister drew up plans for a Republic.
The present Prime Minister used the same plans.
Of course Britain was willing to give the island independence because sugarcane was not as profitable, now it’s time for Britain to return some of the money.
The curators at the British museum need to buy a bunch of envelopes and some stamps and start mailing all their stolen artifacts back.
I say down with the monarchy.. People running around with tiles is ridiculous in 2022!
Strip them all of their titles…It is almost 2022 and not 1422! Enough already and anyone who refers to themselves with a title is either a fool or a snob or both! Vivre la republique!
Word is a different kind of colonialism is taking over in Barbados … heavy investment from China.
China is not only investing in the Caribbean, but in the rest of the World.
England took all the profits from the sugarcane industry and offered a few scholarships to Oxford in exchange.
Time to move on.
I travel to Barbados often and that is what I’m hearing as well. Basically a lot of Chinese investment promising jobs, but then over half of the jobs are going to Chinese nationals moving onto the island. There are fears about leaving the Commonwealth only to then be subsumed by China, which is why I think they only elected to have a new head of state, vs. leaving entirely.
I adore Barbados, and it was ravaged from the pandemic and the damage it did to the tourism and other industries. It has created a level of political upheaval.
@superashes: Are you British?
Where does the US figure into this? I’m a US descendant of Barbados citizens and the US was always a significant supporter and ally. The US needs to step up!
@Dizzy: Yeah, that’s not what happening. The Brits are just upset that they’ve lost influence in the Caribbean.
China is taking over much of the US and Europe as well. Think of how much manufacturing is done in China and how much property is bought by China. UK should look at themselves and their own Tory government getting fat off the money from China.
Nah, Barbados is sick of being ruled by a family so racist they kicked their black relatives OUT.
And I guarantee you more commonwealth countries that are primarily people of color are going to move this same way too.
People don’t understand what an absolutely vile message the treatment and essentially exile of Harry, Meghan, and the kids sent. It ruined the Monarchy’s relationship with people of color forever. It showed their true selves.
It showed weren’t just old fashioned, out of touch, casual racists like Phillip anymore, it but were active current modern racists. Racists even to their own family, even to those in line for the throne. They will never get past that in the eyes of people who care about these things.
This is their world-wide reputation now.
It is hard to believe Britain once colonised more than half the world pop at some point. So many if not all their former colonies are doing much better than they are and will be, currency aside.
I read somewhere yesterday that the reason Charles is handling it well is because it’s better for his image that Barbados leaves while the Queen is still alive, and not immediately after he is made king. Let’s face it. Theres always a self-interested angle with this guy.
Since other countries insist on maintaining the commonwealth. The position as Head of Commonwealth should be for 4yrs and every 4yrs they have a vote. I don’t see why the UK gets to be the Head and keeps the position for life, if in fact that is how it goes. There are other capable countries that can also hold the position as well. I hope this really does cause a domino effect in the islands to finally get rid d of them as HoS.
For all his privilege (& acknowledging that he’s an unpleasant person), I don’t envy Charles’s position here. The “job” he’s been raised for is basically just to keep the whole thing going & it’s all going to fall apart once the Queen passes. His best bet is probably to see if there are climate change mitigation efforts that could truly benefit Commonwealth nations, in addition to trade deals. But the reality is that the Conservatives probably wouldn’t support either idea. And the Windsors have been ignoring the Commonwealth in favor of cozying up to royals & oligarchs with oil money. And *even if* Charles somehow managed to duct tape the whole thing together for his reign, he knows he has to turn it all over to his arrogant, useless son.
I’m happy for the people of Barbados & all of the other Commonwealth nations who get out from under the yoke of colonialism. All the folks who claim to love the “British Empire” are going to look around one day & realize they destroyed it. So much the better.
“All the folks who claim to love the “British Empire” are going to look around one day & realize they destroyed it. So much the better.”<— THIIIIIIIIIIS! Imagine if Meghan had been accepted with open arms and she and Harry had spent time in Barbados speaking with the people and having real conversations about what the people need and how the Commonwealth can help…I think that might have impacted this decision. (Although regardless I think Barbados is making the right decision.)
Charles looked at the wrong endgame in making sure Camilla is gonna be Princess of Wales.
He should have been putting the leash on Baldimort.
He is getting exactly what he has worked for and earned.
Sure, he’s sanguine about it – people have been talking about the death of the British empire ever since WWII, he should be used to it by now.
Happy for Barbados! 💜
Congratulations Barbados!
Congratulations Barbados!
“severing another link with the past”—damned straight.
It really has nothing to do with current Windsor turmoil, as this author would like to make. The Chinese were behind it. The Times did an article about the Chinese influence on the Island.