Her Majesty pulled out of the key climate change summit after being urged to rest by her doctors. The 95-year-old monarch was due to travel to Scotland to host a major reception for world leaders at the conference. But Buckingham Palace said that the Queen is only undertaking light duties after spending a night in the hospital for preliminary investigations.<\/p>\n
Young climate activist Oniel Leadon, from the Bahamas, was disappointed.<\/p>\n
He toldExpress.co.uk: I dont think it made a huge amount of difference that the Queen wasnt here [at COP26] because those who are focused on the work are going to do the work.<\/p>\n
But having the Queen here would have been amazing in terms of optics, and in terms of getting the common person to be more engaged as that would have created a huge media frenzy.<\/p>\n
But while the Queen could not attend in person, she was able to deliver a message to world leaders via video.<\/p>\n
The Queen said in the video that it is \"time for words has now moved to the time for action\".<\/p>\n
She also urged global powers to act now for our children and our children's children\" and \"rise above the politics of the moment\".<\/p>\n
But Mr Leadon feels the Queen is now holding his country back.<\/p>\n
The Bahamas is a constitutional monarchy, meaning that The Queen has a unique relationship with the country.<\/p>\n
As Queen of The Bahamas, Her Majesty plays an important ceremonial and symbolic role in the country, although she is not involved in the day-to-day business of The Bahamas Government.<\/p>\n
Mr Leadon toldExpress.co.uk: I feel as though sometimes having the Queen as head of state is a hindrance.<\/p>\n
When youre from a place like the Bahamas and you want to make certain advancements, you cannot do so without the Queens permission.<\/p>\n
Of course, as she is our head of state, the first one who directly reports to the Queen is the Governor Director General of the Bahamas, and so a lot of things get tied up in that situation.\"<\/p>\n
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Last month, Barbados elected its first-ever president, dropping Queen Elizabeth as the head of the state 55 years after independence from Britain.<\/p>\n
And Mr Leadon called for a change to the system in the Bahamas as well.<\/p>\n
He toldExpress.co.uk: Would I support removing the Queen as head of state? When the Bahamas is ready, of course. <\/p>\n
I believe in the potential of my people so much I know that we have taken so many great lessons from our past Prime Ministers and the wider network of world leaders, and I think that, with the right timing, the Bahamas will be ready to make that separation.<\/p>\n
I know that Barbados is doing the very same thing and I love that for my Caribbean people because we are a region of nations that have been so underestimated.<\/p>\n
I know there is so much more that we can bring to the world stage and I just need us to have the opportunity, and we need to be able to support ourselves.<\/p>\n
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But Mr Leadon did warn that the Queen is still needed for the time being.<\/p>\n
He toldExpress.co.uk: I know that a huge part of why we are not able to step away from the monarchy is because of financial reason, its because we dont have investments and dont have a huge amount of backing, but in the right moment when its ready I know that the Bahamas is going to do stellar things on the world stage.<\/p>\n
Mr Leadon has built up a huge following on Instagram and is now a prominent young climate activist who has been making waves in the climate movement.<\/p>\n
He is still at COP26 where he was involved in talks with The Extreme Hangout, a youth-led climate movement.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The rest is here:<\/p>\n
Queen's absence from COP sparks call for her to be REMOVED as Bahama's head of state - Daily Express<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Her Majesty pulled out of the key climate change summit after being urged to rest by her doctors. Continue reading