Everything the Queen holds dear

IT IS an institution encompassing everything the Queen holds dear – the closeness of allies and a shared experience that bridges continents and cultures.

During her 70 years on the throne, Her Majesty has witnessed nations come together to promote peace, human rights, democracy and shared values.

So it will no doubt have been with deep personal sadness that she felt forced to withdraw from the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey this month.

The international organisation, born in its current form in 1949 under her father King George VI, was created to keep countries together after decolonisation in the wake of the Second World War. Now boasting 53 member nations, the Commonwealth holds more than 2.4 billion people and encompasses more than

11.5 million square miles of the globe’s surface.

But while many countries have thrived in the Commonwealth, others have left, some having their own heads of state in lieu of the British Monarchy.

Certainly, it has at times been shrouded in controversy, not least because it was born from – and based on – the Dominions of the British Empire. Notably, under Queen Elizabeth II’s watch, Guyana in 1970, Trinidad and Tobago in 76, Dominica in 78 and Mauritius in 92, removed her as their head of state. In 2020, the Duke of Sussex admitted the Commonwealth must acknowledge its ‘uncomfortable’ past in order to ‘right’ wrongs.

In November 2021, Barbados chose to sever ties with the British Monarchy. Despite the rejection of her leadership, the Queen still sent the country her ‘warmest good wishes’.

Following the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s Caribbean tour, the future of the Commonwealth and its legacy may be shrouded in doubt.

Yet the Queen’s commitment to it remains crystal clear.