Can the Commonwealth of Nations strip Carlos III of his title?

(CNN Spanish) – Hours after Charles III was proclaimed the new King of the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, a small island nation in the Caribbean, made a ad That Turned the World: The country will hold a referendum to determine whether the king should remain as head of state or whether he should become a republic.

There are 14 CountriesIn addition to the United Kingdom, which King Carlos III presided over. They are known as “the realms of the Commonwealth”, that is, “the kingdoms of the Commonwealth”.

Nine of these countries are from the Americas, while the remaining five are from Oceania. Many of them are island nations, but there are also some large and powerful regions such as Canada and Australia. The list consists of Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Solomon Islands, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, the Grenadines, and Tuvalu.

Can King Charles III be stripped of his title?

Although there are differences in some cases, most of these states can be defined as constitutional kingdoms where the king is not involved in the day-to-day government administration, but has an important role from a ceremonial and symbolic point of view.

In these countries there is the figure of the Governor-General who represents the King in the territory. This Governor-General is a “de facto head of state”, as explained by him page The Commonwealth of Nations, who “performs the daily ceremonial functions” on behalf of the King.

Preserving Carlos III is the decision of each state, because they are sovereign states.

In fact, less than three months ago in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, Carlos, who was then the crown prince, He made it clear that he would not stand in the way of the decision From what country wanted to sever ties with the monarchy.

“The Commonwealth of Nations includes within it nations which have constitutional relations with my family, some of which still do, and increasingly those that have not. I want to say clearly, as I said earlier, that the constitutional agreement of each member is the time to confront,” he said during a speech. The legacy of slavery during the colonial period, be it a republic or a monarchy, is a matter for each member country to decide.

This argument is remembered even by pro-republican movements. The activist organization Citizens for a Canadian Republic, for example, installation And so in his call for a change of country: “No king stands in the way of Canada’s becoming a republic.”

Not like the Commonwealth countries

Another thing that is different, although they are usually mentioned at the same time, is the Commonwealth of Nations. The Commonwealth, as it is called in English, is a voluntary federation of 56 states comprising states in which the monarch is head of states and nations which do not.

Carlos III is also the head of the Commonwealth, but, unlike with kingdoms, it is not a position he inherited from his mother: the leaders of the organization confirmed this at a meeting in London in 2018.

The agency focuses on promoting trade, international cooperation, social issues and environmental concerns.

Where do the independence bells ring?

Antigua and Barbuda is not the only country where the bells of a possible exchange rate change are ringing.

Questions about the monarchy’s role in the region were raised in March after Prince William and Princess Kate visited Blaise, Jamaica and the Bahamas to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s accession to the throne.

The trip was fraught with problems and they were told by the Jamaican prime minister that the country was “moving forward” and would achieve its “true ambition” to be “independent”.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday the country was likely to become “ultimately” a republic but not now. “I think it’s most likely to happen in my lifetime,” Ardern told a news conference. “This is a broad, purposeful discussion. I don’t think it’s going to happen or should happen quickly.”

In Australia, voices for change have also emerged. The key to maintaining order appears to have been Elizabeth II herself.

In 2017, then-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, co-founder of the Australian Republican movement, summed it up when it was given to the public at Buckingham Palace: “Although I am a Republican, I am also an Elizabethan.”

Background: “A New Beginning” for Barbados

At the end of 2021, Barbados It became the first country in nearly three decades to choose to remove the British monarch as head of state and appoint its first female head of state. The last country to do so was the island of Mauritius in 1992.

Carlos, then a prince, participated in the ceremony that saw the change, speaking of a “new beginning” and highlighting “liberation, autonomy and independence” as the nation’s reference points. However, his presence in this former colony, when the 55th anniversary of independence was celebrated, was not viewed favorably by everyone on the island: it was even described as an “insult”.

Charles factor

When Elizabeth ascended the throne, her empire – once the largest on earth – was crumbling: country after country voted for independence, and many saw this as the beginning of the end for the entire institution of the monarchy.

Isabel, who was still in her twenties, halted the decadence by offering her support to the Commonwealth. He made it his priority, and under his leadership, it has grown from eight members to 56 today, as this CNN analysis shows. At the end of his reign, a total of 14 Countries (plus the United Kingdom) continued to maintain her as Queen.

Will Carlos III be able to maintain this legacy? This seems to be one of the questions that has arisen in the new age. “Just as it was once annulled that the King or Queen of England was Emperor of India, or King of India, modernity tells us about anti-monarchical movements in former colonies,” Alejandro Chanona, PhD in political science from the University of Essex. Part of the question will depend on the ability of the king who, with personal attrition, will have to make a “double effort” to legitimize himself. The academic says that Carlos III inherited a “very powerful” monarchy and should think carefully about the steps to follow. He concludes: “It is not easy.”

With information from Max Foster and Lauren Said Morehouse.