When Elizabeth II began to rule in 1952, she did so over an Empire, although it was already showing signs of decline. Barely five years earlier, India, the jewel in the crown, had been lost, which had precipitated the birth of the Commonwealth, a free association of countries heirs to this British Empire on which the sun never set.
After his death, the new king, Carlos III, ascends to a throne with a more modest estate, although he is still the head of state of 15 countries, including Australia, New Zealand or Canada. He will also remain at the head of the Commonwealth, the institution that his mother strengthened and kept alive, to the point of showing “extremely proud” of the expansion of this community throughout his life.
Before him, however, There are already some dark clouds that suggest maintaining this union of 56 countries will not be easy. Kings. El domingo, apenas tres días después de la muerte de Isabel II, Antigua y Barbuda anunció sur intention de votar en referendum en los próximos tres años si su sucesor debe seguir siendo el jefe de Estado de este pequeño país caribeño, a más de 6.000 kilómetros from London.
Republic yes, but not yet
“It is very likely that the debate will be raised” on the role of the British crown in these nations, “because, logically, Carlos does not have the same moral authority as his mother”, Ignacio Molina, a researcher at the Royal Elcano Institute, told RTVE.es. He recalls that in several countries the possibility of consulting the population on their form of government after Isabel’s death has been mentioned, but he stresses that it would be “in bad taste to do so in the very short term”.
Cristina Manzano, director of the Esglobal international relations department, agrees with him. “Obviously the debate is there, what we have no idea is how long it will take to materialize. I feel like they’re going to leave a grace periodnot so much in deference to Carlos but to Isabel,” he says.
This is what happened in Australia, the country with the greatest economic weight of all the “Commonwealth monarchies”. Its prime minister, Labor Anthnoy Albanese, defines himself as a Republican, but declined to answer whether he would raise the issue in the near future. “It is not appropriate to speak now of this constitutional change, it is appropriate to commemorate the life of service of Elizabeth II”, he specified to the national network ABC. Before, he had already ruled out holding a consultation during his first term.
New Zealand is in a similar situation, where its head of government, Jacinda Ardern, is convinced that she would see the country become a republic in her lifetime, but did not see it as “a short-term measure“.
The role of the king in the former colonies, testimony but symbol
In these countries, as in others where independence processes have been experienced which have not been “traumatic” – unlike India, for example -, the queen was kept as head of state as a sign of understanding and good relations with her former metropolisMolina explains. He also persisted in this role as the vast majority of former colonies became independent during his tenure. Its function in countries like Australia or New Zealand is only nominal, since the practical functions of this direction are exercised by the Governor-General of each country, but it persists as the last link with the colonizing country – in more than presence of the monarch in banknotes and coinsand some Union Jack on their flags.
“It has a certain element of subordination to another country”, which is why the Republicans of these nations believe that “it makes no sense that the head of state is at the opposite end of the spectrum, literally”, underlines the researcher of the Elcano Royal Institute. Australia has already held a referendum in 1999 in which the majority, 55%, voted to retain the monarchy.
In a different situation is Canada, the other great power under this particular system of government. There, the republican movement is weaker and is not organized around a large political party, but also the country has always been reluctant to raise the debate due to “heartbreaking internal issues, such as Quebec independence”Manzano points out. “Opening a process of constitutional reform, which would be the one that must be carried out to change the form of the state, would be complicated and even ‘dangerous’ for its stability”, he adds.
The debate intensifies in the Caribbean
Of all the Commonwealth, it is in the Caribbean that the republican movement strengthened the most. In the region, where six countries remain tied to the British Crown, the world’s newest republic, Barbados, was born. There, Parliament voted in November last year to no longer have Elizabeth II as head of state and elected its first female president.
The example has spread among other states, such as Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, whose Prime Minister has called for a referendum to be held in the coming months. In Jamaica, the ruling Labor Party was also in favor of electing its highest representative, while the Country insists on demanding compensation from UK for forcibly removing some 600,000 Africans work in the sugar cane and banana plantations.
To improve its relations with the countries of the region, In March, Princes William and Catherine traveled there in a round which the British media described as “disaster”, between controversial images evoking the colonial era and republican protests. “On the part of the United Kingdom, there was a willingness to maintain ties with its former colonies, but not to ask for forgivenesslike Macron did, for example,” analyzes Manzano.
Among the countries that now claim to decide their head of state, the idea is repeated that the calling of a referendum is not a personal movement against the figure of Isabella II or Carlos III. “It is not an act of hostility or any difference between Antigua and Barbuda and the monarchy, but it is the last step to complete this circle of independence, to ensure that we are truly a sovereign nation“said the island nation’s prime minister, Gaston Browne.
“We will have to see if Carlos is able to maintain these relations”
Beyond the countries where the British monarch remains at the head of the state, the Commonwealth continues to show signs of strength. This year, it added two new members -Gabon and Togo-, both without a colonial past with the United Kingdom.. It brings together 2.5 billion people in countries like India, Pakistan, Nigeria and South Africa.
From now on you will see whether “above the person who was Isabel II they manage to maintain the institution”, something that will largely depend on “the attitude of Carlos”Manzano continues: “It remains to be seen if he is able to sustain these relationships.” The new king held one of his first meetings with Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Scotland and promised in his maiden speech to emulate his mother’s pledge to serve the Commonwealth throughout her reign.
RNE Informative Specials – Isabella II, a Queen of Many Nations by the Commonwealth – Listen Now
Among the members of this alliance – moreover with little political or commercial entity, unlike, for example, the European Union – a difficult relationship with its former metropolis persists and the painful memory of the colonial era. “Isabel II succeeded in creating this rather symbolic and ethereal space of relationships, based on a common past which has not been reviewed because it was very conflicting in many cases”, explains the director of Esglobal, who points out that her figure had a lot to do. to do with that this union has been maintained for seven decades.
““Isabel II succeeded in creating this rather symbolic and ethereal space of relations, based on a common past which has not been reviewed because it is very conflicting in many cases”“
This union was explained by the the Queen’s ‘belief’ that ‘her mission was to keep these nations united around what had been the British Empire once it collapsed. Elizabeth II has made 200 visits to dozens of Commonwealth countries, more than any other monarch before her.
The post of Head of the Commonwealth is not hereditary, but in 2018, after the Queen requested it, members agreed that her son would succeed her in the role. Ahead of him is the challenge of maintaining one of the key legacies that Elizabeth II built on the ashes of the Empire.. “I don’t think Antigua and Barbuda or Jamaica ceasing to be monarchies will affect much, but Canada, Australia and New Zealand are something else and that would be a blow,” warns Molina.
“Amateur introvert. Pop culture trailblazer. Incurable bacon aficionado.”
