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The United
Kingdom does not stand alone as being proud to call Queen Elizabeth
II their Queen. The Commonwealth realm was created through
the Statute of Westminster in 1931 to give former dominions of the
UK legislative freedom.
Today, this includes a total of sixteen countries who view Queen
Elizabeth II as their head of state. They comprise of the UK,
Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda,
Belize, Papua New Guinea, St Christopher and Nevis, St Vincent and
the Grenadines, Tuvalu, Barbados, Grenada, Solomon Islands, St
Lucia and The Bahamas.
This is not to be confused with is the Commonwealth of Nations,
whose members include a voluntary membership of 53 countries, many
of whom are former territories of the British Empire. That is over
29,958,050 km2 – about a quarter of the world’s land mass – and has
a population of over 2 billion.
The Singapore Declaration of 1971 defines what the Commonwealth is.
It begins with: “The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary
association of independent sovereign states, each responsible for
its own policies, consulting and co-operating in the common
interests of their peoples and in the promotion of international
understanding and world peace.”
However, in this upcoming series, we will take a look at the
role of the Monarch in the Commonwealth realms, and take
readers through a detailed account of the history, ceremonies,
past visits and The Queen’s place in daily life of these diverse
dominions.
Photo credit: The Commonwealth via photopin
cc]]>
