Barbados to cut ties with the Queen

Mia Mottley

BRIDGETOWN  – Barbados has announced its intention to become a republic and remove Britain’s Queen Elizabeth as head of state.

Governor-General Dame Sandra Mason, gave the update last week at the opening of a new parliamentary session in Bridgetown.

She invoked the famous quote of the nation’s first prime minister, Errol Barrow, who had cautioned against ‘loitering on colonial premises”.

Queen Elizabeth

“Having attained independence over half a century ago, our country can be in no doubt about its capacity for self-governance,” said Queen Elizabeth’s representative, whose role is mostly ceremonial.

“The time has come to fully leave our colonial past behind. Barbadians want a Barbadian Head of State. This is the ultimate statement of confidence in who we are and what we are capable of achieving,” she said.

Dame Sandra said the administration of Prime Minister Mia Mottley, will take the “next logical step” to make Barbados into a republic in time for the country’s 55th anniversary of independence in November 2021.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said  last week, “This is a matter for the government and people of Barbados.”

Most former British colonies in the Caribbean have kept their ties with the monarchy after gaining their independence

If Barbados does decide to  go ahead with its plans, it will join Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Dominica. Eight other Caribbean Community, or CARICOM, states in the Caribbean would still have the queen as head of state, the largest being Jamaica and the Bahamas.

In 1998, a Barbados constitutional review commission recommended republican status and in 2015, then Prime Minister, Freundel Stuart said his administration would have implemented the recommendation.

Most Caribbean Community (CARICOM) states still maintain formal links with the British monarchy after  attaining  their independence. .

If Barbados goes through with its plans, it will join Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Dominica as CARICOM  members to sever ties with the monarchy

Eight other CARICOM countries would still have Queen Elizabeth as head of state,