LONDON (Bywire News) - Following Caribbean member states' unease, Prince Charles has expressed that those that would prefer to abandon the monarchy are free to do so.
As his mother Queen Elizabeth’s successor, and future Head of the Commonwealth, the prince stated: “I want to say clearly, as I have said before, that each member's constitutional arrangement, as republic or monarchy, is purely a matter for each member country to decide.”
Last year, Barbados formally cut ties with the monarchy to become a republic. It was an event that Prince Charles attended, standing solemnly as they recounted stories of slavery which had been endorsed and carried out by Britain for two centuries.
Jamaica has since indicated that it would also like to become a republic, although, like Barbados, they intend to remain a member of the Commonwealth.
Referring to Britain’s colonial past, the finance minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Camillo Michael Gonsalves criticised: "You don't find that in any other major diplomatic body. And I think it's an error that perpetuates some of the very unfortunate histories of the Commonwealth,” he said. "It is difficult to understand that we were conceived as a grouping with this common tie of colonialism and exploitation, and we gloss over it."
Ministers from across the Caribbean have been critical of Britain’s colonial past and the need for reparations.
Prime minister of St. Lucia, Phillipe J Pierre said: "Because of the labour of our forefathers ... these (slave-trading) countries developed wealth. I believe it's time that there be some form of payback for what we suffered as slaves during these colonial times."
There have been suggestions that the Kigali Summit will stage negotiations for reparations.
Gonsalves further outlined the deep-rooted problems of the monarchy by suggesting that the Commonwealth must be used as a topic of discussion to “move that conversation forward” otherwise it would be entirely disregarded.
With calls for reparations increasing, members of the monarchy have been forced to address the issue. Prince William spoke out his tour in Kingston where he was greeted by Jamaican activists protesting for compensation: "Who the Commonwealth chooses to lead its family in the future isn't what's on my mind,” he said.
"What matters to us is the potential the Commonwealth family has to create a better future for the people who form it."
Whilst William has appeared publicly to discuss the tour’s effect, bringing “into focus questions about the past and the future”, it is unclear whether the visit will produce any real change. So far it has just been all crown, no filling.
(Writing by Anna Kapanadze, editing by Tom Cropper and Klaudia Fior)