Prince Charles acknowledged the change at his feet and said the Commonwealth is a diverse and growing family.
Kigali, Rwanda:
Prince Charles told Commonwealth leaders on Friday that the choice of becoming a republic or relinquishing the queen as head of state was “a matter for each member state to decide”. .
Speaking at the opening of the Commonwealth summit in Rwanda, the heir to the British throne said the 54-member club mainly from former British colonies will always be “a free association of independent, self-governing states”.
The Prince of Wales is representing Queen Elizabeth II as head of the Commonwealth in Rwanda at a new time of discussion about its purpose and profile in a modern world.
Republican movements are taking root in a number of Commonwealth countries, and some are seeking to make up for colonial injustices such as slavery.
Charles acknowledges the change underfoot and says the Commonwealth is a diverse and growing family.
“The Commonwealth contains within it countries that have a constitutional relationship with my family, some continue to do so, and increasingly there are countries that do not,” Charles told an audience of presidents and prime ministers.
“I would like to make it clear, as I have said before, that the constitutional arrangement of each member, republic or monarchy, is entirely up to each member state to decide.
“The benefit of long life gives me the experience that arrangements like this can be changed, calmly and without fatigue.”
Queen Elizabeth has championed the Commonwealth since she ascended the throne in 1952, but it’s been decades since several member states deposed the monarch as head of state.
Republican movements in some of the 14 Commonwealth countries outside the UK where the queen is head of state are accelerating.
Member state Barbados became the world’s newest republic last year, and other Caribbean nations are working to follow suit.
Another member, Australia, has also appointed a minister of the republic, in a sign of impending constitutional change.
There have also been questions about the future role of the royal family as the head of a group representing a third of humanity in rich and poor nations globally.
At its last meeting in 2018, the Commonwealth appointed Charles the queen’s successor as head of the organization, and delegates in Rwanda praised the royal family for their dedication to the cause.
The commonwealth has come under scrutiny for its involvement but advocates say expanding membership from countries with no historical ties to Britain underscores its health.
The two newest members are Mozambique and host country Rwanda, and the western African nations Togo and Gabon are expected to join the club at this summit.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from a syndication feed.)
