Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Sep 01, 2025

Lowering Queen Elizabeth's Flag, Barbados Becomes World's Newest Republic

Lowering Queen Elizabeth's Flag, Barbados Becomes World's Newest Republic

Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, will attend the "Pride of Nationhood" ceremony, which is set to include military parades, a mounted guard of honor, gun salutes, dances and fireworks.

The Caribbean island nation of Barbados will on Monday night sever centuries-old ties to the British monarchy, ditching Queen Elizabeth II as head of state and declaring itself the world's newest republic.

The royal Standard flag that represents the queen will be lowered in the capital Bridgetown and -- at midnight (0400 GMT) -- the current governor general, Sandra Mason, will be inaugurated as the first president.

Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, will attend the "Pride of Nationhood" ceremony, which is set to include military parades, a mounted guard of honor, gun salutes, dances and fireworks.

The new era for Barbados has fueled debate among the population of 285,000 over colonialism and Britain's centuries of influence, including more than 200 years of slavery until 1834.

And Prince Charles' visit was clouded at the last minute by another race row over alleged comments about his grandson.

Charles' youngest son Prince Harry and his wife Meghan -- who has a black mother and a white father -- have said an unnamed royal asked how dark their unborn first child's skin would be.

After a new book reportedly claimed that Charles was responsible, his spokesman said that "this is fiction and not worth further comment."

Colonialism and slavery


Barbados, famous for its idyllic beaches, love of cricket, and as the birthplace of singer Rihanna, won independence from Britain in 1966.

In October, it elected Mason to become its first president, one year after Prime Minister Mia Mottley declared the country would "fully" leave behind its colonial past.

"I remember in the old days we would be really excited about the Queen and Prince Charles and Princess Diana and royal weddings," Anastasia Smith, a 61-year-old nurse, told AFP.

"But I don't know if we ever quite saw them as our royal family. Now, everybody is talking about a republic. I'm not sure that anything about my life is going to change. But I think we're doing the right thing and it's a proud moment for Barbados."

British officials said Charles would use his speech in Barbados to stress continuing ties between the two countries -- including through the Commonwealth group of nations.

But local criticism has focused on Mottley inviting Charles to be the guest of honor, and to award him the Order of Freedom of Barbados, the highest national honor.

For young activists such as Firhaana Bulbulia, founder of the Barbados Muslim Association, British colonialism and slavery lie behind the island's modern inequalities.

"The wealth gap, the ability to own land, and even access to loans from banks all have a lot to do with structures built out of being ruled by Britain," Bulbulia, 26, said.

Relying on tourism


Some Barbadians argue there are more pressing national issues than replacing the queen, including economic turmoil caused by the Covid-19 pandemic that has exposed overreliance on tourism -- which, ironically, is dependent on British visitors.

Eerie calm in usually bustling Bridgetown, paltry numbers at popular tourist spots and a dead nightlife scene all point to a country struggling after years of relative prosperity.

Unemployment is at nearly 16 percent, up from nine percent in recent years, and the country has just eased a longstanding Covid-19 curfew, pushing it back from 9 pm to midnight.

Opposition leader Bishop Joseph Atherley said the celebrations among dignitaries would largely not be accessible to ordinary people.

"I just don't think we are doing ourselves a credit and a just service by having this when people are being admonished to sit in the comfort of your home and watch on a screen," Atherley said.

Buoyed by Black Lives Matter movements across the world, local activists last year successfully advocated for the removal of a statue of the British Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson that stood in National Heroes Square for two centuries.

And the end of the queen's reign is seen by some as a necessary step towards financial reparations to address the historic consequences of the use of slaves brought from Africa to work on sugar plantations.

For many Barbadians, replacing the British queen is just catching up with how the nation has felt for many years.

"I think it's a very good thing we're doing, becoming a republic, because we were independent 55 years now and it's time enough that we stand on our own feet," said Derry Bailey, 33, owner of a beach chair and water sports rental business.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
×