Prince Charles to visit Barbados as 'Guest of Honour' to mark transition to republic

Barbados: The Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, will visit Barbados as a "guest of honour" as the country will become a Republic within the Commonwealth. The ceremony will officially remove the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II, as head of state and mark Barbados as a republic.

The Prince of Wales will visit Barbados to mark the transition of Barbados to a Republic within the Commonwealth. As the future head of the Commonwealth, HRH has been invited by Mia Amor Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, to be a guest of honor at events celebrating the Republic, Clarence House announced on Twitter on Friday.

"The Prince will also hold a short engagement program in Barbados," Clarence House added in a statement on Twitter. The event, which will take place later this month, will witness the swearing-in of Dame Sandra Mason as President of Barbados. The swearing-in ceremony will take place on November 30, which is the 55th anniversary of Barbados' independence from Great Britain in 1966.

The announcement of going to republic status was made last September when the government decided to "completely put (the) colonial past behind us," reported the Evening Standard. However, the nation will remain a member of the Commonwealth.

With a population of approximately 3 lakh, Barbados is one of the richest and most populated islands in the Caribbean. Its change of status to a republic was recommended by a constitutional revision in 1998. Barbados's transition to a republic was announced, after "Barbadians wanted a Barbadian head of state. This is the ultimate statement of confidence in who we are and who we are. of what we are capable of achieving, "Sandra had said, the Evening Standard reported. Before Barbados, Guyana was the first former British colony to gain republic status in 1970, less than four years after gaining independence. Trinidad and Tobago followed in 1976 and Dominica in 1977. However, all three have remained in the Commonwealth. Meanwhile, Jamaica has also indicated that it could also opt for the change.

https://twitter.com/ClarenceHouse/status/1456622230448844801?s=20