Brown signed a document confirming Charles III’s status as the new King, but minutes later, he said he would push for a referendum after hinting at such a move earlier this year during a visit by the Earl and Countess of Wessex. The Caribbean country is one of 14 nations to retain a British monarch as their head of state. Browne told ITV: “This is not an act of hostility or any difference between Antigua and Barbuda and the monarchy, but it is the final step to complete this cycle of independence, to ensure that we are truly a sovereign nation. Asked for a timetable for the referendum, he said: “I would say probably within the next three years.” Brown told ITV on Saturday that his country would remain a committed member of the Commonwealth even if it abolished the monarchy in a referendum. Brown in April called on the Wessex during a trip to Antigua in April to use their “diplomatic influence” to achieve “restorative justice” and described his country’s desire to one day become a democracy. Prince Edward was criticized as “arrogant” for joking that he was not taking notes during Brown’s comments. William and Kate, meanwhile, were accused of returning to colonial days in Jamaica in March after the couple shook hands with crowds behind a wire fence and got into the back of a Land Rover, as the Queen had done before since 60 years. Protesters accused them of profiting from the “blood, tears and sweat” of slaves, while in the Bahamas they urged them to recognize that the British economy was “built on the backs” of the former Bahamas and pay reparations. Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness suggested to William and Kate that his country could be next to become a democracy, while a minister from Belize then said it might be time to “take the next step to truly gain our independence.” William acknowledged after the trip that the monarchy’s days in the Caribbean may be numbered as he said the future “is for the people to decide”.
