Commonwealth plea from Queen
MORE than 70 years ago, in a speech on her 21st birthday, she dedicated her entire life ‘whether it be long or short’ to this organisation. Having stuck unflinchingly to her promise through good times and bad, the Queen finally asked for something in return from the Commonwealth yesterday: let’s keep it in the family.
And today, she is expected to have that request granted, as Prince Charles is set to be rubber-stamped as the next head of the Commonwealth when she eventually retires.
With her real family in front of her and her ‘family of nations’ around her, the Queen spoke of her ‘sincere wish’ that the 53 members of her favourite organisation should look to the future with the Prince of Wales at its helm, in the interests of ‘stability and continuity’.
Of all the Queen’s titles and constitutional duties, Head of the Commonwealth is neither hereditary nor automatically held by the British monarch. As of today, however, the prince’s position seems to be a done deal. There could be little doubt about the prevailing view among the members as they assembled at Buckingham Palace yesterday morning for the opening ceremony of the largest Commonwealth summit in the organisation’s history.
It came despite reports claiming that some Commonwealth leaders remain ‘underwhelmed’ by the Prince of Wales, while senior Labour figures, including leader Jeremy Corbyn, have questioned whether he should be honoured with the role.
It fell to the Maltese prime minister, as the Commonwealth’s outgoing chair-in-office, to speak on behalf of his colleagues.
‘We are elated by the vigour with which the Prince of Wales actively participates in Commonwealth affairs,’ said Dr Joseph Muscat. ‘We are certain that when he will be called upon to do so, he will provide solid and passionate leadership for our Commonwealth.’
It remains to be seen whether the leaders decide to formalise this intention in today’s end-of-summit communique. Since there is no constitutional rule about the headship, there is no requirement to do so.
AND although there is no vacancy yet, this was still a landmark moment. The prince has been quietly assuming more and more of the monarch’s duties – investitures, overseas tours and, most recently, honouring the fallen at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday. But the Commonwealth question has always been studiously avoided. The prince has had to tread carefully, for fear of appearing too pushy on his mother’s turf or, conversely, of appearing uninterested .
Yet having visited 44 of the 53 nations of the Commonwealth (he has been to ten in the past year alone) and having known all its leaders since birth, he probably understands ‘the club’ better than anyone alive, with the exception of his parents.
Yesterday he spoke fondly of what has been ‘a fundamental feature of my life for as long as I can remember’ and of bygone Commonwealth statesmen such as Pierre Trudeau, former prime minister of Canada, and Jomo Kenyatta, former president of Kenya. Both men’s sons – Justin Trudeau and Uhuru Kenyatta – have since followed their fathers into politics. Both of them were seated on the stage yesterday with the other premiers. The Windsors are certainly not the only Commonwealth dynasty.
The Queen’s ringing endorsement of the prince was particularly striking because, until now, she has avoided interfering in the business side of things.
Over nearly seven decades she has held this argumentative organisation-cum-clan together, listening to their troubles in endless private audiences, wining and dining them, breaking up fights and generally keeping the show on the road.
But this was the nearest she has ever come to an instruction.
Cleverly, she talked of the prince continuing her father’s work as well as her own.
Commonwealth summits are unlike any other, not least because there are no interpreters. The family atmosphere was evident even before the start yesterday as the leaders gathered in the Blue Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace.
Usually, royal guests in the state apartments stand around nervously, trying not to touch anything. This lot swaggered in, many giving each other bear hugs, and cheerfully plonked themselves down on priceless sofas and chairs, making themselves thoroughly at home.
It is one of the reasons why the Queen has always enjoyed these summits, and why there was an added poignancy to yesterday’s proceedings. For this was a farewell of sorts – not that anyone put it quite like that.
The Queen, who celebrates her 92nd birthday tomorrow, no longer undertakes long-haul travel. These Commonwealth summits, held every other year, take place in Britain only every 20 years or so. The next one is scheduled for Malaysia, and the Prince of Wales will represent the Queen there.
She will continue to play an active part in Commonwealth affairs and meet its leaders when they are in Britain. But her days of far-away summits are over.
It explains why this gathering had attracted the largest number of premiers in Commonwealth history, with 47
heads of government present among 53 delegations.
She attended her first gathering of its leaders as a princess, when her father, King George VI, created the modern organisation out of the remnants of the British Empire. There were only eight members of the Commonwealth when the Queen came to the throne.
In 1953, she was the dazzling debutante head surrounded by grand old stagers like Churchill, Menzies and Nehru. She would entertain the Commonwealth prime ministers on their annual trips to London until they decided to rotate these gatherings among the member nations. In 1971 the first Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (or CHOGM) took place in Singapore.
Prime Minister Edward Heath formally advised the Queen not to attend. He warned that there would be a row over British arms sales to South Africa and that there would be a toxic atmosphere – as indeed there was. The Commonwealth came close to imploding there and then.
The Queen was adamant that she would never miss another one. She has been turning up ever since, holding her audiences, her banquets and her receptions (with the exception of 2013, when the new long-haul ban ruled out a journey to Sri Lanka). All through the 1970s and 80s, all through the bust-ups over Rhodesia and South Africa, she was there in the wings, defusing the tension, raising the tone, nudging the organisation towards consensus rather than polarisation.
Along the way, the Commonwealth would enjoy great triumphs – notably the end of apartheid, the return of South Africa to ‘the club’ and the creation of an independent Zimbabwe.
The fact that dozens of ex-colonies have maintained such a close bond with the once-loathed eximperial Crown has been, in no small part, down to the way the Queen has personally reframed that relationship.
In recent years, the Commonwealth may have lost its way at a political level, eclipsed by a myriad of grander, flashier copycats – the G20, the EU and so on. Its critics suggest it is an outdated, clappedout post-imperial has-been. But it still does its best work at the people-to-people level through numerous grass-roots associations, plugging away on tiny budgets.
It has plenty of admirers and jealous rivals. The French have done their best to emulate it. There are many nations who want to join.
This is a unique outfit with a unique character, forged through shared bonds of history, language, law and sacrifice. Last night’s dinner was proof of that. State banquets at the Palace always have a U-shaped table with the Queen at the top. Not this one. Last night, the Queen ordered round tables of ten so that no one was below the salt. She sat between Dr Muscat of Malta and president Adama Barrow of The Gambia (now a Commonwealth member once more, having recently ejected the madman who used to be in charge).
All the Royal Family were there, with the exception of a convalescing Prince Philip and a heavily pregnant Duchess of Cambridge. Spread all around the Picture Gallery was that old ex-imperial family to which the Queen pledged herself on her 21st birthday.
By tradition, a summit newcomer had been invited to raise the toast to the Queen at the black tie banquet. President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana struck a somewhat melancholy note as he expressed ‘our collective regret that she will no longer automatically be present at our proceedings’.
But he voiced a ‘fervent hope’ that ‘her deep love for this association will continue to light the way for all of us’. The party is far from over, however.
Today this lot head for their summit ‘retreat’ at Windsor Castle – where the Queen will have a more intimate lunchtime bash for them. Dress: casual.
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