Jamaica Plans to Remove King Charles as Head of State by Next Year, Minister Says
King Charles is not only the monarch of the United Kingdon, but he also serves as head of state of 15 Commonwealth realms. That number could drop as soon as next year: In a new interview with the Independent, Jamaica's foreign minister Alando Terrelonge revealed that Jamaica remains on track to remove King Charles as head of state.
"We remain hopeful that by 2025 we would have completed those reforms and removed the British monarch as the head of our democracy," Terrelonge said, adding "notwithstanding it being a figurehead and that real power resides with the government of Jamaica and the people of Jamaica." This follows with what Jamaica's Prime Minister Andrew Holness told Prince William and Kate Middleton on their visit to the nation in 2022. He said that his country was "moving on" to "fulfill our true ambitions and destiny as an independent, developed, prosperous country."
Per the new story in the Independent, Terrelonge added, "I've always maintained that we owe it to our ancestors who fought and died so that we could be free, we owe it to the framers of our constitution, the work done by our national heroes, for Jamaica to now walk as truly liberated and independent. With having a Jamaican head of state, every single young king and young queen in Jamaica can aspire to one day be the head of state of their own country, and we'll no longer have to, figuratively or not, pay respect or swear allegiance to a foreign monarch."
In order to remove the British monarch as head of state, Jamaica must pass the Constitution of Jamaica Bill in both houses of parliament with a two-thirds majority vote. The bill, then, would be followed by a public referendum, on which citizens would vote if Jamaica should become a republic.
King Charles has visited Jamaica four times, most recently in 2012. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were the most recent British royals to travel to the country, taking in the global premiere of Bob Marley: One Love in Kingston, Jamaica, while William and Kate were the last British royals to undertake an official tour in the country, in 2022. The last country to remove the British monarch as head of state was Barbados, in 2021; at the time, then-Prince Charles represented Queen Elizabeth in a ceremony.
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