Last October, King Charles went on an ill-advised tour of Australia and Samoa. One of the reasons for the stop in Samoa was for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. It didn’t go well, mostly because very few heads of government actually turned up. It also didn’t go well because Charles looked worse and worse as the tour stretched out. It felt like a physically compromised king was doing all of that, just for a couple of photos with various under-secretaries and ministers for development. My point? The British Commonwealth mostly limps along as a loose organization, and the “British realms” – the countries which still have the British monarchy as their head of state – are increasingly looking to cut ties. Speaking of, Grenada has removed the “oath of allegiance” to King Charles.
Grenada has officially dropped the Oath of Allegiance to King Charles III. The new changes mean state officials will no longer take Oath of Allegiance to King Charles, his Heirs and Successors. Instead, the Oath of Allegiance will be to the Caribbean country itself.
The changes came into effect on 1 August 2025, as Grenada and other Caribbean nations marked Emancipation Day – the anniversary of the day that slavery was abolished in the British Empire.
The Constitution (Oath of Allegiance) (Amendment) (NO. 1) Bill, 2025 orders to change the Oath of Allegiance from “His Majesty King Charles the Third, His Heirs and Successors’” to “Grenada”.
The Amendment of Schedule 3 to the Constitution reads as follows: “Schedule 3 to the Constitution in the Oath of Allegiance is amended by deleting the words “His Majesty King Charles the Third, His Heirs and Successors”, and substituting therefor the word “Grenada”; in relation to the following provisions of the Constitution” —
(i) section 20 (Governor-General taking oath);
(ii) section 40 (Member of the Houses of Parliament taking oath);
(iii) section 65 (Ministers or Parliamentary Secretaries taking oath);
(iv) section 95(1) (Citizen by marriage taking oath); and
(v) section 98 (Citizen by marriage taking oath).The Bill also states: “Where in any written law prescribing an oath there appear the words ‘our Sovereign Lord the King’, those words shall be deleted, and there shall be substituted therefor the words ‘the people of Grenada’; as in sections 20, 23, 27 and 28 of the Oaths Act, Cap 217 of the 2010 Revised Laws of Grenada.”
The changes follow Prime Minister, Dickon Mitchell’s comments in 2023, that he hopes under his leadership Grenada will transition to republic – removing the British Monarchy as its head of state.
A necessary change and an important one. It starts with the language, and there’s no reason why Grenada’s officials should have to bow and scrape and pledge allegiance to a British king at this point. Enough! Now, will Grenada eventually become a republic? Perhaps. I feel like it’s mostly a logistical issue for the countries which haven’t dumped the monarchy at this point – the monarchy is so wrapped up in their constitutions and legal system, and it’s a pain in the ass to disentangle. Which is why these kinds of linguistic changes are important.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
-
- King Charles III views the Pyroton fire demonstration during a visit to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) National Bushfire Behaviour Research Laboratory, to learn about world-leading burn over protection systems, and bushfire behaviour research, on day two of his visit to Australia and Samoa. Featuring: King Charles III Where: Canberra, Australia When: 21 Oct 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- King Charles III meets with staff and volunteers at the Australian National Botanic Gardens, in Canberra, on day two of the royal visit to Australia and Samoa. Featuring: King Charles III Where: Canberra, Australia When: 21 Oct 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- King Charles III receives an official Royal ‘Ava ceremonial’ welcome during their visit to the National University of Samoa, on day five of the royal visit to Australia and Samoa Featuring: King Charles III Where: Samoa When: 24 Oct 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- King Charles III at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Apia, Samoa Featuring: King Charles III Where: Apia, Samoa When: 24 Oct 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- King Charles III at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Apia, Samoa Featuring: King Charles III Where: Apia, Samoa When: 24 Oct 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- King Charles III and Queen Camilla host an official dinner and reception for the Commonwealth Heads of Government at the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum in Apia, Samoa, on day six of the royal visit to Australia and Samoa Featuring: King Charles III, Queen Camilla Where: Apia, Samoa When: 25 Oct 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- King Charles III and Queen Camilla host an official dinner and reception for the Commonwealth Heads of Government at the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum in Apia, Samoa on day six of the royal visit to Australia and Samoa Featuring: King Charles III, Queen Camilla Where: Samoa When: 25 Oct 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- King Charles III during a farewell ceremony at Siumu Village on the final day of the royal visit to Australia and Samoa Featuring: King Charles III Where: Siumu, Samoa When: 26 Oct 2024 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
Canadian here. Wish we would do the same.
One by one they are leaving.
Go, Grenada. Keep taking those steps.
Yes. Go Grenada.
I recently watch a video of people in the UK learning about the Pledge of Allegiance being recited during school in the U.S. and several of the questions was about why we would pledge allegiance to a flag and my thought to that was how the people in the UK essentially pledge an allegiance to an unelected person, a monarch, and pay to fund that monarch and most of his or her family. I think of that even more for those in the Commonwealth countries who don’t necessarily fund them but the keep them as their heads of state and have their faces on their currency and in frames in their buildings. Buildings that these monarchs or their families may visit on occasion for PR and fluff pieces in the media. They bring nothing to the table for anyone. The whole argument about tourism loses air because it’s the buildings themselves that people go visit. That’s why tourism in France and Italy are usual higher than in the UK. It’s the buildings and other attractions that people plan their vacations on, not the probability of seeing a royal. Buckingham palace is one of the most visited places in the UK but no one in the royal family has lived their in years. And even when royals did live there, it wasn’t as if they were outside of the palace doing walkabouts with tourists on the regular. Diana’s passing created a rarity of them doing a walkabout outside those palace walls and that was only because of the public’s outcry for the royal family to respond to the country that was in mourning.
I think part of the difference is that it’s hidden here. I don’t know how many people actually even know about let alone could explain the sovereign grant and how it’s calculated. There has been good work in recent years to shine a lot more light on the royals and their finances but most people are far more concerned with their own finances.
The monarch is a face on the money and the stamps.
I always felt we pledged allegiance to the flag because it was one of the few unifying things here. And even then it was the flag as representing the constitution and ideals of the country. We don’t have an official language (despite the Orange 💩 gibbon signing an executive order), an official religion, every race and ethnicity is represented here, we don’t have a monarch.
Good for Grenada! I hope it inspires other countries to follow suit.
Yeah the age of empire is over. Good for them!
Timely given this article from today.
New research reveals King George IV profited from slavery in Grenada https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/07/king-george-iv-profited-slavery-grenada?CMP=share_btn_url
Love this.