London (AFP) On a rainy night in Hong Kong in 1997, Prince Charles read a message from his mother Queen Elizabeth II, as Britain handed back sovereignty of the territory to China after more than 150 years of UK rule. <\/p>\n
On Monday, nearly a quarter of a century on, Charles will be present at another handover, when Barbados becomes the world's newest republic, with an elected president -- not the queen -- as head of state.<\/p>\n
The ceremony will not be on the same scale as in Hong Kong, when military marching bands and bagpipes provided the backdrop to a momentous occasion that was described as \"the epilogue of empire\".<\/p>\n
But the Caribbean island's abandonment of constitutional monarchy is significant, not just for the monarch and her heir, but for the new republic -- and others that may follow.<\/p>\n
Joe Little, the managing editor of Majesty Magazine, said the declaration was a \"natural progression\" of a trend that began soon after the queen took the throne in 1952.<\/p>\n
\"I think inevitably it's one that will continue, not necessarily in this current reign but in the next -- and probably accelerate,\" he told AFP.<\/p>\n
Royal officials have said little about the end of nearly four painful centuries of British rule and influence on Barbados, which was a key centre in the slave trade.<\/p>\n
\"This is a matter for the government and people of Barbados,\" Buckingham Palace said when the authorities in Bridgetown set out its intentions last year.<\/p>\n
However, it sends a clear message that in the twilight of the 95-year-old queen's reign, and when Charles, 73, succeeds, the British monarchy's global reach is diminished.<\/p>\n
In 1947, five years before she became queen, Britain saw the \"Jewel in the Crown\" -- India -- emerge as an independent republic.<\/p>\n
After Elizabeth took the throne in 1952, independence movements swept Britain's former colonies, severing ties to the crown that were bound by commerce and bloody conquest.<\/p>\n
But between 1983 and 1987, Elizabeth was still queen of an astonishing 18 countries. <\/p>\n
Fiji (1987) and Mauritius (1992) have since become republics, following in the footsteps of Caribbean nations Dominica, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago in the 1970s.<\/p>\n
In doing so now, tiny Barbados, with a population of just under 300,000, could start a domino effect in the queen's 14 remaining Commonwealth realms outside Britain.<\/p>\n
Professor Hilary Beckles, a Barbadian historian, called Monday's event -- on the eve of Barbados' 55th anniversary of independence -- \"an historic moment\" with far-reaching significance. <\/p>\n
For Barbados, the Caribbean and all post-colonial societies, it represents freedom from the \"tyranny of imperial and colonial authority\", and the \"brutal legacy\" of slavery and genocidal oppression, he said this week.<\/p>\n
\"History has given Barbados this responsibility to move forward into the 21st century\" with pride, dignity and honour, he added, calling Tuesday \"a democracy day\".<\/p>\n
The queen has consistently been the most popular royal in Britain and beyond, and is seen as the symbol of the country post-war as well as the last living link to its imperial past.<\/p>\n
When the succession comes, with the more controversial Charles lacking that history, experts predict the republican question will be asked with more urgency in Commonwealth countries -- and even possibly in the UK.<\/p>\n
Little said the push for an elected head of state was more than likely in places such as Australia and to a lesser extent Canada.<\/p>\n
Australians last voted on the the issue in November 1999, but the proposal did not pass.<\/p>\n
Graham Smith, from the anti-monarchy pressure group Republic, said Barbados' move is \"useful\" to demonstrate that ditching constitutional monarchy can be done easily.<\/p>\n
\"It's going to have a big impact,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Jamaica in particular, where both main political parties back the idea of becoming a republic, could see it as a \"prompt\", he added.<\/p>\n
In Britain, a YouGov poll in May indicated support for scrapping the monarchy was low among older age groups, dropping to just 13 percent among those aged 65 and over.<\/p>\n
In contrast, 41 percent of those aged 18 to 24 said they wanted an elected head of state.<\/p>\n
Smith attributed that to changing attitudes to monarchy, a greater awareness about the legacies of colonialism and support for anti-racism movements and a fairer society.<\/p>\n
\"As the older generation starts to die, we're going to see a big spike in support for republicanism,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"I think the only people that think monarchy has a big role to play are the British and the royal family.\"<\/p>\n
2021 AFP<\/p>\n
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Barbados will spur others to ditch the Queen: experts - FRANCE 24<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" London (AFP) On a rainy night in Hong Kong in 1997, Prince Charles read a message from his mother Queen Elizabeth II, as Britain handed back sovereignty of the territory to China after more than 150 years of UK rule. On Monday, nearly a quarter of a century on, Charles will be present at another handover, when Barbados becomes the world's newest republic, with an elected president -- not the queen -- as head of state. Continue reading