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Although Barbados gained independence from Great Britain in 1966, the Queen remains the island’s official head of state. Now the Caribbean state wants to depose the English queen and become an independent republic.
Barbados plans to achieve full sovereignty as a state in the next year. In return, the island wants to depose the Queen as head of state and establish an independent republic. “It is time to leave our colonial past behind,” said Sandra Mason, Governor General of Barbados, who read a speech by her prime minister.
“The people of Barbados want a Barbadian head of state,” Mason said. There was no doubt that the country had the capacity to govern itself. Barbados “will take the next logical step towards full sovereignty” and will become a republic on November 30, 2021, the 55th anniversary of independence.
Buckingham Palace reacts cautiously
Although Barbados gained independence from Great Britain in 1966, the Queen remains the official head of state of the Caribbean state. This has been the subject of controversial discussions on the island in recent decades.
Reactions to Barbado’s announcement of independence, however, were decidedly sober in London. Consequently, Buckingham Palace announced that the matter was “a matter for the government and people of the Commenwealth State.” The Commonwealth is a flexible union of states that arose from the former colonies of Great Britain. The organization is led by Queen Elizabeth II.
In addition to the United Kingdom, the Queen is head of state of 15 other countries previously ruled by Great Britain where she is represented by a Governor General. These include Australia, Bahamas, Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea, as well as several smaller Caribbean islands such as Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Lucia.
With the measure, Barbados would join states such as Trinidad and Tobago or Guyana, which have already renounced the crown.
