Barbados says "good-bye" to its queen.

This microstate located in the Lesser Antilles has in fact decided to free itself from subjection to the British Crown and to become a republic by the end of November 2021. The constitutional divorce was announced by the Governor-General of Island, Sandra Mason, in a back-to-school speech from the local parliament.

"Having obtained its independence more than half a century ago, our country can have no doubts about its capacities to manage itself", affirmed Sandra Mason, who spoke Tuesday (September 15th) in the capital, Bridgetown.

The time has come to say goodbye to our colonial past.

The Barbadians want a Barbadian head of state, "continued the one who is the official representative of the Queen of England.

Full sovereignty                 

A sign of the UK's deep imprint in Barbados, Sandra Mason was only reading the "Speech from the Throne" by Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley.

Exactly as the Queen does in Westminster, by unveiling the government's program, in a lavish, highly codified ceremony, anchored in a centuries-old tradition.

Elizabeth II will therefore lose her sovereignty over one of the last kingdoms of the Commonwealth.

Asked in London on the subject, a spokesperson for Buckingham Palace said the decision was "up to the authorities and the people of Barbados".

This tourist pearl of the Lesser Antilles is particularly popular with Anglo-Saxon high society.

Covering only 430 km², it had 287,000 inhabitants in 2019 according to the World Bank.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the island of paradise beaches and crystal clear waters was visited by more than 1 million tourists every year. The separation with the British Crown will mark "the supreme affirmation of confidence in who we are and in what we are capable of, "assured the Governor-General of the island state.

"Barbados will take the next logical step, towards full sovereignty and become a republic by the day of celebration of the 55th anniversary of our independence, November 30, 2021", she detailed. 

Rihanna Island

The easternmost island of the Caribbean, 300 km from Venezuela, Barbados is the birthplace of world superstar Rihanna.

The singer, probably one of the few people on Earth to be better known than her country, has also been officially appointed ambassador of the island state, responsible for promoting tourism, education and investment.

A number of countries have since their independence chosen to withdraw the position of Head of State from the Queen of England, the latest being Mauritius, which in 1992 became a republic.

Following the example of Ghana (1960), South Africa (1960) or The Gambia (1970).

In other countries like Australia, the issue was put to referendum and rejected.

In the end, Elizabeth II remains the Head of State, in addition to the United Kingdom, of the following fifteen nations: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua- New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands and State of Tuvalu.

With AFP

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