Barbados Removes Queen Elizabeth As Head Of State To Become A Republic, Gets First President

Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, was in Barbados capital Bridgetown to the inauguration of President-elect Sandra Mason.

The flag of Barbados flies next to the UK Flag over a building in Bridgetown, Barbados | Photo: Getty

New Delhi: Caribbean island nation Barbados Monday removed Britain's Queen Elizabeth as its head of state, and became the world’s newest republic — 55 years after gaining Independence from British rule.

President Sandra Mason replaced Queen Elizabeth as the country’s head of state. Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, was in capital Bridgetown to join her inauguration.

By installing its own president, Barbados severed the imperial ties of nearly 400 years. 

The last former British colony to become a republic was Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean that installed its own president as head of state in 1992.

Like Mauritius, Barbados will also remain within the Commonwealth, a grouping of 54 countries, mostly former English colonies, across Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe.

 

Prince Charles with Sandra Mason, the new president, in Barbados | Photo: AFP

The new republic was born at the stroke of midnight as hundreds of people attended the ceremony at Heroes Square marked by a 21 gun salute and playing of the national anthem of Barbados, Reuters reported.

Queen Elizabeth's royal standard was lowered as her son watched. 

"The creation of this republic offers a new beginning," Prince Charles said, adding that the queen had sent her warmest wishes.

"We the people must give Republic Barbados its spirit and its substance," President Sandra Mason said on the occasion.

Elizabeth II is still the queen of 15 other realms, including Australia, Canada and Jamaica, and there are talks that the Barbados move will trigger discussion on similar proposals in other former British colonies.