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Originally, the relationship between United Kingdom and its domains was vertical, but it changed in 1926. The official website of the Commonwealth that, that year, a conference was held between its members and that there he remembered They all had the same weight. “They all owe allegiance to the British king or queen, but the United Kingdom does not rule them. This community was called the British Commonwealth of Nations or simply the Commonwealth.”.
For example, in 1947, India pursued the republican dream, although it did not want to break away from the Commonwealth. This meant that, two years later, the prime ministers of the Commonwealth decided that “republics and other countries can join” to the alliance.
To join, you do not need to have a history in common with the UK. The words of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 about the alliance are also remembered:
“Thus formed, the Commonwealth bears no resemblance to the empires of the past. It is a completely new conception, built on the highest qualities of the human spirit: friendship, loyalty and the desire for freedom and peace.”.
The first Commonwealth chief was Jorge VIwho passed the post to Isabel II. Now it will be the turn of Charles IIIafter his mother proposed him as boss in 2018 and he was accepted by the members.
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The future of the alliance
Does the rise of a king who generates controversy play for or against the future and stability of the Commonwealth, unlike the queen, whose image was almost pristine? For Belaúnde, one of the big problems facing the next British monarch is his relationship with Diana of Wales“a person who, even after his death, remains very dear”.
“That impacts its popularity. But he will have to play his game and do what is necessary to achieve the same renown as his mother. It will not be easy because there are republican movements that could be amplified by the death of the queen”.
In effect, the republican currents have made the power of United Kingdom and of the same Commonwealth be reduced. A good example: the EFE agency tells that, by 1952, when Isabel II assumed power, she “was the highest authority of 32 nations”. Now, however, Carlos III will only be the head of state of 15 nations.
Belaúnde notes: “But beware that countries can be part of the Commonwealth without having it as head of state. They are different things”.
Could other countries follow that path?
To avoid speculation, EFE recalls some facts and figures. In Canada -”where there is some republican feeling, although without political organization”- and Australia -”which in 1999 held a referendum that the monarchy won with 55% of the vote”- the matter could be publicly discussed again.
Anthony Albanese, Australian Prime Ministerrecently declared: “The republic will be a reality”.
The Caribbean also think about this matter. Belaúnde adds: “It should be remembered that, recently, Barbados stopped having Elizabeth II as head of state and became a republic”.
The news agency notes that the United Kingdom tried to avoid it and sent Guillermo y Catalina on a diplomatic visit so that “seduce the caribbeans”. “The tour, however, was called a public relations ‘disaster’ in the British press.”.
Finally, in November of last year, that Caribbean nation took the decision who put “end centuries of British influence over the island, which was a center for the transatlantic slave trade for more than 200 years”.
The ceremony was attended by the now king charles iii, who “recognized the ‘appalling atrocity of slavery’ suffered by the Caribbean island”.
The nations that comprise it
The 54 member countries form a community that covers some 31 million square kilometers and almost 2.5 billion people, almost a third of the world’s population. Of the 54 nations, Carlos III is the symbolic head of state of 15 of them: those known as Commonwealth monarchies. This is the full list:
In Africa figure Botswana, Cameroon, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Swaziland, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Togo, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia.
In AsiaBangladesh, Brunei, India, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka.
In the Caribbean and the AmericasAntigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.
In EuropaCyprus, Malta and the United Kingdom.
In the PeacefulAustralia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.