THE new King of Britain and the Commonwealth held his very first diplomatic appointment and reception on September 11, meeting at Buckingham Palace with Commonwealth Secretary-General, Baroness Patricia Scotland and the High Commissioners of member-nations of the other 14 nations of which he is also new Head-of-State.

The Commonwealth comprises 56 nations across several continents and the Caribbean is playing an important role at several levels.

Apart from Dame Patricia being of British peerage and having served as a UK Attorney-General, she was born in Dominica.

Besides, eight of the remaining realms abroad are in the Caribbean: Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. (The others are Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.)

Speculations have been rife as to whether King Charles III will be the glue that keeps the Commonwealth together or the monarch that presides over its quick collapse, or whether it’ll simply continue as a club of former mainly British colonies.

During a speech as Prince in 2017 in Singapore, Charles said the Commonwealth was “the cornerstone of my life” — something Dame Patricia reminded him of on Sunday, but concern is being expressed by True Brits about the decreasing size of the realm, as more member-states follow Barbados and part with the monarchy.

The loss of ‘Little England’ was followed by similar announcements of intent earlier this year by Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica and Saint Lucia. And Australia today, under a republican prime minister, says it will eventually activate a mechanism (already in motion before the Queen died) to decide when it’ll no longer have Charles as its king.

Interestingly, bids by Commonwealth member-states to complete their independence from and reduce their dependence on Britain for certain key aspects of judicial constitutional guidance are being misinterpreted as somehow intended to weaken the already long-declining British Empire – like Jamaica deciding to complete its cycle after 60 years of independence, Saint Lucia deciding to break with the Privy Council and join the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) or Antigua & Barbuda deciding to hold a republican referendum within three years.

In 2018, the queen asked that her son be accepted as her successor, and he did represent her at the last Commonwealth Summit in Rwanda last June, where some member-states repeated continuing concern about the implications of giving the impression that royal succession is automatic. Others also indicated they felt it was time to put the issue of reparations from Britain and European nations for Slavery and Native Genocide on the Commonwealth’s agenda, as it affects most member-states.

True, King Charles has inherited leadership of an entity founded by his grandfather and led by his mother, but as Baroness Amos (of Guyanese heritage) said Sunday, nations becoming republics is not about “embarrassing” the empire,” but about King Charles adapting to the challenges of the changing times.

Baroness Amos, who was UK Ambassador to Australia and held several positions of international stature, also notes that the Commonwealth’s commonalities are based on “a partnership of equals, despite geographic location or population…” that allows them to “hold equal conversations about the challenges we face,” which she sees as “very important.”

She admits it’ll be “a difficult balance to strike” for King Charles, but “as a firm believer in conversations about balance,” she’s more optimistic than pessimistic about his ability to not just succeed his mom, but to also face the successorship challenges the queen groomed him for.

All that said, Guyana’s own road along the referendum route to the republican path is as unique as any other, with its own domestic political nuances and influences that are now part of the history of the continuing transition from British Guiana to where El Dorado is today as the world’s fastest-growing new oil-and-gas economy.

Be that as it may, just as Guyana stood high and mighty behind the Commonwealth’s boycott of Apartheid in South Africa in the 80s, and the Commonwealth stood on the side of democracy in Guyana during 2020, this nation will continue to be a firm believer in the rights of sovereign nations to take decisions in their people’s best interests.

It is better to see it as strengthening the respect for democracy and peaceful coexistence between partners facing similar problems in different ways and seeking common ways of overcoming common challenges, to contribute to the shared ‘common wealth’ of discussing, deciding and acting together, never mind their differences.
1