Queen Elizabeth II loses one of her pearls: The Caribbean island of Barbados has renounced the British crown and declared a republic. The judge Sandra Mason was sworn in as the first female president of the island state at midnight on Tuesday night in the capital Bridgetown. She replaced the British monarch as head of state on the 55th Independence Day of Barbados and almost 400 years after the arrival of the first English settlers.
Heir to the throne, Prince Charles, traveled to Barbados on behalf of the Queen to attend the handover ceremony, during which the royal standard – the official flag – was lowered and a final military salute was given to the British royal family. The Caribbean island, however, remains a member of the Commonwealth.
As in many other countries, the role of the Queen as head of state of the former colony was recently purely symbolic. For many of the nearly 300,000 Barbadians, the British crown also represents foreign rule and a brutal legacy of exploitation of slaves.
“It is time to leave our colonial past completely behind us. The Barbadians want a Barbadian head of state,” Prime Minister Mia Mottley emphasized in the annual so-called throne speech in September 2020 when she announced the transition to a republic. Mason read the speech in her previous role as Governor General of Barbados – that is, representative of the Queen. In October of this year, the parliament of the Caribbean state elected 72-year-old Mason to the newly created office of head of state. Mottley remains head of government.