Barbados to Remove Queen as Head of State

Barbados announced Tuesday it plans to remove Queen Elizabeth II as head of state next year, marking the first time since 1992 that a commonwealth realm has ditched the long-reigning queen as its constitutional monarch. 

Barbados Governor-General Sandra Mason announced in a speech Tuesday that the Caribbean country planned to take steps “toward full sovereignty and become a Republic” by its 55th anniversary of independence, which will take place Nov. 30, 2021. She called Barbados the “best governed Black society in the world” and expressed a desire for the country to be represented by its own people. 

“Having attained Independence over half a century ago, our country can be in no doubt about its capacity for self-governance. The time has come to fully leave our colonial past behind,” Mason said. “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.” READ MORE

Once Barbados departs, the remaining realms will be Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and the U.K.