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Barbados to remove Queen as head of state in 2021

The Queen on a visit to Barbados in 1989 - REUTERS
The Queen on a visit to Barbados in 1989 - REUTERS

Barbados will remove the Queen as its head of state and become a republic next year, it has announced, as its governor-general says: “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 November 2021, in 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 to remove the Queen as head of state has been “mooted for quite some time”, a source said, and did not come as a surprise to Her Majesty 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.

The Prince of Wales meets singer Lionel Richie at a Prince's Trust International Reception in Barbados in 2019 - PA
The Prince of Wales meets singer Lionel Richie at a Prince's Trust International Reception in Barbados in 2019 - PA

Delivering the “Throne Speech”, which marks the state opening of the Barbados parliament and was written by the Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Governor-General Dame Sandra Mason said: "Barbados's first Prime Minister, The Rt Excellent Errol Walton Barrow, cautioned against loitering on colonial premises. That warning is as relevant today as it was in 1966.

"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."

Prince Harry with pop star Rihanna in Barbados in 2016 - Getty
Prince Harry with pop star Rihanna in Barbados in 2016 - Getty

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 at national level during the following decades.

In 1998, a Barbados constitutional review commission recommended republican status, and in 2015 prime minister Freundel Stuart 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 Caribbean island nation as members of the Commonwealth.

Barbados is one of the Queen's 16 realms, with other countries in the region including Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and St Vincent.

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh at the State Opening of Parliament in Bridgetown, Barbados, during her Silver Jubilee tour of the Caribbean - PA
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh at the State Opening of Parliament in Bridgetown, Barbados, during her Silver Jubilee tour of the Caribbean - PA

Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica and Guyana are already republics, and Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness has said following suit is a priority of his government.

In recent years, Britain has utilised the power of its Royal Family to show its dedication to the Caribbean, with the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall undertaking a major tour to the region, including Barbados, in the spring of 2019.

The Prince has received the Prime Minister at Dumfries House, and spoke to her by telephone in May.

In 2016, Prince Harry also paid a visit, with a series of lively engagements to celebrate 50 years of independence, including meeting pop star Rihanna.

Last month, the Prince and his wife the Duchess of Sussex spoke to young leaders about the importance of confronting the Commonwealth’s colonial past.   A source from the foreign ministry in Barbados said the government was now “determined to deliver” on the promise of replacing the Queen with a president.

Prince Harry visits Barbados in 2010 - PA
Prince Harry visits Barbados in 2010 - PA

“We have a Queen as our head of state yet we don't have a palace nor is she living on our island,” they said. “This cannot be right.

"We love the Queen and the royal family and have no qualms with them. But we must learn to govern ourselves.

"Quite a few of the royal family have been to Barbados and will always be welcome. Our quest to become a republic is borne out of the fact that we need to get in line with the 21st century."

Peter Marlowby, a historian in Haiti, said: "Pretty soon all the Caribbean islands that are not republics will follow into Barbados's footsteps and become full republics including Jamaica which has the Queen as it's head of state."

“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."

David Denny, general secretary of the Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration, who organized three Black Lives Matter Movement marches in June and called for the removal of Lord Nelson's statue, said recent royal visits had not persuaded Barbadians to keep the Queen as head of state.

The recent words of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex about the Commonwealth "didn't make a difference" either, he said.