Barbados to remove Queen as head of state
Country said it wants to leave ‘colonial past behind’, with other Caribbean nations set to follow suit
Barbados will remove the Queen as its head of state and become a republic next year. The country, one of 16 realms with the Queen as its monarch, will seek a new head of state by November 2021, in a move which could see other Caribbean countries follow suit. It intends to remain part of the Commonwealth, but will replace the Queen’s portrait on the Barbadian dollar bill. Its governor-general said: “The time has come to fully leave our colonial past behind.”
BARBADOS will remove the Queen as its head of state and become a republic next year, it has announced, as its governor-general said: “The time has come to fully leave our colonial past behind.”
The country, one of 16 remaining realms which has the Queen as its head, will seek a new head of state by Nov 2021, a move which could see other Caribbean countries follow suit.
Buckingham Palace said the decision was a “matter for the government and people of Barbados”.
The decision has been “mooted for quite some time”, a source said, and did not come as a surprise to the Queen or the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
The country intends to remain part of the Commonwealth, which has the Queen as its head, but will replace her portrait on the Barbadian dollar bill.
Experts said it was likely that other Caribbean nations would follow suit to become republics in due course, with Jamaica expected to declare itself next.
Delivering the “Throne Speech”, which marks the state opening of the Barbados parliament and was written by Mia Mottley, the prime minister, Dame Sandra Mason, governor-general, said: “Having attained independence over half a century ago, our country can be in no doubt about its capacity for self-governance.
“The time has come to fully leave our colonial past behind. Barbadians want a Barbadian head of state.
“This is the ultimate statement of confidence in who we are and what we are capable of achieving. Hence, Barbados will take the next logical step toward full sovereignty and become a republic by the time we celebrate our 55th anniversary of independence.”
The Queen has been Barbados’s head of state since it became independent in 1966, but the issue of becoming a republic has been discussed during the following decades. In 1998, a Barbados constitutional review commission recommended republican status, and in 2015 Freundel Stuart, then-prime minister, said “we have to move from a monarchical system to a republican form of government in the very near future”.
Barbados will mark the 55th anniversary of its independence on November 30 2021.
Downing Street echoed the words of Buckingham Palace, saying the development was a “decision for Barbados and the government there”, but that Britain would continue to “enjoy a partnership” with the island nation as members of the Commonwealth. Barbados is one of the Queen’s 16 realms, with others in the region including Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize,
Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent.
Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica and Guyana are already republics, and Andrew Holness, Jamaica’s prime minister, has said following suit is a priority of his government.
The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall undertook a major tour to the region, including Barbados, in 2019. The Prince has received the prime minister at Dumfries House, and spoke to her by telephone in May.
In 2016, the Duke of Sussex also paid a visit to celebrate 50 years of independence, including meeting pop star Rihanna. Last month, the Duke and his wife the Duchess of Sussex spoke about the importance of confronting the Commonwealth’s colonial past.
A source from the foreign ministry in Barbados said the government was
“determined to deliver” on replacing the Queen with a president.
“We love the Queen and the Royal family and have no qualms with them. But we must learn to govern ourselves,” they said. “Quite a few of the Royal family have been to Barbados and will always be welcome.
“We need to get in line with the 21st century.”
Peter Marlowby, a historian in Haiti, said: “Pretty soon all the Caribbean islands
‘This is the ultimate statement of confidence in who we are and what we are capable of achieving. Barbados will take the next logical step toward full sovereignty’
‘We need to get in line with the 21st century’
that are not republics will follow into Barbados’s footsteps.
“We fought revolutions to become self-determined nations and the struggle will carry on until all of our islands are free from the yoke of colonialism.”