In her seven decades on the throne, she has visited all but a small handful of the group’s 54 countries, undertaking thousands of hours of grueling travel to reach its many far-flung places. He attended almost every Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and spent hundreds of hours entertaining heads of state from around the world in order to maintain the links necessary to ensure that a body like the Commonwealth could continue to exist. But in the wake of her death, there will be some who question whether it can survive in its current form – or even if it should. What is the Commonwealth of Nations? The origins of the Commonwealth can be traced back to the British Empire, which once covered a quarter of the earth’s surface and which subjugated millions of people for the benefit of a relatively few. Over time, as the people in many of the empire’s dominions became increasingly self-reliant, there was a push for increasing autonomy. The Balfour Declaration of 1926 created the British Commonwealth, declaring that all territories were designated self-governing communities. At the time, all member states had the UK monarch as their head of state. India, the empire’s most populous dominion and considered its crown jewel, wanted to become a democracy and, after partition from Pakistan, gained full independence in 1947, with its own head of state, like Pakistan. In 1949, the Declaration of London established a new form of relationship for the former colonies of the United Kingdom, with the word “British” removed from the name of the Commonwealth and membership based not on loyalty to the Crown, but on a relationship to which member states would recognize the monarch. as Head of the Commonwealth. Image: India’s independence in August 1947 ushered in an era where almost all former colonial nations became members of the Commonwealth. Photo: AP A number of other former colonial territories gained independence in the following decades, many choosing to follow India in becoming democracies but still wishing to maintain ties with Britain by being part of the Commonwealth. Some, however, retained the queen as monarch. Currently, 14 Commonwealth “kingdoms” have the Queen as head of state, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand, but also some in the Caribbean. Most democracies are in Africa. Today, the Commonwealth says it is “a voluntary association of 56 independent and equal countries” whose “governments have agreed on common goals such as development, democracy and peace” and therefore allows countries that were not part of the former empire. The most recent recruits, in 2022, were Gabon and Togo, neither of which had “a historical connection with the Commonwealth, having both gained independence from France in the 1960s”. Image: Paul Kagame’s Rwanda was the last country to join the Commonwealth in 2009 In 2009, Rwanda, a former Belgian colony that has been independent since 1962, made the decision to join in the wake of its horrific 1994 genocide. Every two years, except during the COVID period, the Prime Ministers and Presidents of member countries come together to discuss common issues at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings (CHOGM). Every four years, athletes from Commonwealth countries around the world come together to take part in the Commonwealth Games to highlight the links between the nations involved, as they did in Birmingham in 2022. Image: The Queen has taken part in many Commonwealth Games, including, in October 2021, launching the Baton Relay for the 2022 Games in Birmingham What was the Queen’s role? The Royal Family, possibly in a reflection of how the Queen saw it and her role in it, describes the Commonwealth on its website as “a remarkable international organisation”. She was head of the Commonwealth, having replaced her father George VI when he died. Although a symbolic role, its presence at CHOGM summits and meetings with heads of state have helped cement ties between member countries in what many agree is a loose grouping, lacking the firm institutional structure of other organizations such as the EU or other trading bodies. Image: Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings provide a forum for discussing issues that are common to many of the organisation’s nations A third of her total overseas visits were to Commonwealth countries and other members of the royal family were also active in maintaining links. During her lifetime, she spoke several times of her pride in what the Commonwealth had achieved. In 2018, the organization agreed that Prince Charles would take over the role of head when the Queen died – which was not automatic, even though the Queen had taken over the role from her father. Charles has visited many of the same countries as his mother and has spoken of how “deeply moved” he was to be named her successor. Image: Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings provide opportunity for world leaders to meet and talk away from the UN More than 200 trips to Commonwealth countries The only Commonwealth countries the Queen did not visit were Rwanda, which joined just 10 years ago, and Cameroon. Before her reign, she visited Lesotho, then Basutoland, and Eswatini, then Swaziland, in 1947. Some journeys involved her traveling tens of thousands of miles, often through rough terrain, meeting thousands of people from many different communities. At the time he came to the throne, the Commonwealth consisted of just eight countries – with many more under colonial control. Now, the 56 Commonwealth countries contain two billion people, a quarter of the world’s population. Her early visits abroad reflected the ties the UK government wanted to strengthen at the time, and this pattern continued throughout, although the monarch could also visit in response to an invitation. Just five years before she ascended after her father’s death, she had said during a visit to South Africa for her 21st birthday: “I declare before you all that my whole life, whether long or short, will be devoted to your service. Image: Before ascending to the throne, then-Princess Elizabeth made a vow on her 21st birthday to the Commonwealth that her “whole life” would be “devoted to your service”. Photo: AP He subsequently made more than 200 visits to Commonwealth countries, many of which were multiple repeat visits. Many of these visits provided some of the most colorful moments of her reign, with the varied and often flamboyant culture she saw on her visits providing a contrast to the occasionally staid formality of the ceremonies she often attended back home. And while the number of visits dwindled as she got older, her enthusiasm seemed undiminished. Image: On Commonwealth Day 2020, the Queen said the organisation’s diversity “serves to make us stronger, individually and collectively”. On Commonwealth Day 2020, he said: “On Commonwealth occasions, it is always heartening to remember the diversity of people and countries that make up our global family… “Such a blend of traditions makes us stronger, individually and collectively, providing the ingredients needed for social, political and economic resilience… “Throughout my life, I have had the opportunity to see and hear how being part of the Commonwealth family means so much to those who live in all parts of the world… Image: Visits to areas such as the Pacific and Oceania have provided some of the most colorful of the Queen’s reign, such as when she was carried aloft in a canoe during her visit to Tuvalu in 1982 “Advances in technology and modern media have now enabled many more people to watch and enjoy – with remarkable immediacy – this experience of connecting the Commonwealth… “Looking to the future, this connectivity also means that we know, perhaps more than ever before, that wherever we live, our choices and actions affect the well-being of people and communities living far away and in very different circumstances… “It is heartening to see how Commonwealth countries continue to invent new ways of working together to achieve prosperity while protecting our planet.” Brewing problem? Signs of trouble emerged in 2021 when, following the killing of George Floyd and the subsequent protests, some Caribbean countries became more assertive in their assessment of the role of monarchy in their constitutional systems. The first to oust the Queen as head of state was Barbados, which became a republic later that year. Image: Barbados is among Commonwealth realms to become democracies as ties with the Crown weaken Many in other Caribbean countries had already expressed their disagreement that they were effectively ruled, if only symbolically, by London, a hangover from the colonial era. It came at a time of growing calls for reparations for hundreds of years during which Britain effectively turned a blind eye to, or even supported, the system that allowed many Britons to create enormous wealth, literally on the backs of enslaved Africans. . During a difficult visit to the region by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in March 2022, Prince William signaled that any decision by Jamaica, Belize or the Bahamas to break away from the British monarchy and become democracies would be supported by “ pride and respect’ from the UK. Nevertheless, angry voices, reflecting generations of inequality between Commonwealth countries and their former colonial rulers, continued to challenge the existing system. …
