The ascension of King Charles III to the throne coincides with the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, as several Commonwealth nations are rethinking their relationship to the British monarchy.
Multiple Commonwealth countries, many of them republics that used to be under British rule, may sever ties with the monarchy over its legacy of colonization.
More than a third of the world’s population is represented by the 56 countries of the Commonwealth. King Charles III will be the monarch in 14 of the 56 countries.
- Those 14 countries include Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.
- The remaining countries are independent of the monarchy but are still within the Commonwealth. The 1949 London Declaration allowed republics and other countries to join the Commonwealth of Nations.
- Four of the countries — Gabon, Togo, Mozambique and Rwanda — joined the commonwealth without any connection to the British empire.
The accession of Charles is putting this debate front and center, asking what are we doing with this British, distant, White monarch as our head of state? According to the Washington Post, the associate professor of Caribbean history at University College London told them.
The Black Lives Matter movement and criticism of how the monarchy treated migrants during World War II have caused Caribbean nations to rethink their relationship with the UK.
- The latest royal visits have only stoked concerns from these countries. Prince William and Princess Kate’s royal trip in June was deemed “tone deaf” and a callback to colonialism.
- Barbados already cast off the monarchy as a head of state, becoming a republic and replacing the queen with a president back in 2021, Axios reports.
Caribbean nations are putting together plans to break away from the monarchy.
- Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne said he plans to hold a referendum on separating from the monarchy within the next few years, according to Bloomberg.
- Belize is actively considering a constitutional reform, which could lead to the Central American nation becoming a republic, the Washington Post reports.
- The Bahamas has also been considering a republic, but specific steps toward forming that style of government remain unclear, the Nassau Guardian reports.
- Jamaica has been teasing the idea of becoming a republic, too, as the country has had a tenuous relationship with the monarchy, per BBC News.
There have yet to be any formal steps taken to break away.
Outside of the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand accepted King Charles III as their new monarch, but signaled a shift towards independence.
- Adam Bandt, the leader of Australia’s Greens Party, said on Twitter that “Australia must move forward,” saying “We need [a] Treaty with First Nations people, and we need to become a Republic.”
- New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern pledged support for King Charles III but said the country will become a republic “in time,” according to the New York Times.
Canada is still questioning its future connections to the monarchy due to the central role of colonialism by the British Crown in the systemic racism perpetuated against Indigenous Peoples.
- The North American nation has also been critical of the recently-discovered burial sites at former residential schools, which were run by Catholic missionaries.
King Charles III will not have to pay inheritance tax.