Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

Royal couple told of Antigua and Barbuda's wish to be republic

Royal couple told of Antigua and Barbuda's wish to be republic

Antigua and Barbuda should "one day become a republic", its prime minister has told the Earl and Countess of Wessex during their Caribbean tour.

The royal couple are on the third leg of their Caribbean tour

Gaston Browne said during a meeting with the royal couple, who are touring the region to mark the Platinum Jubilee, it was the country's wish to remove the Queen as head of state.

However Mr Browne acknowledged such a move is "not on the cards" currently.

He also called for "reparatory justice" to compensate for slavery.

The earl and countess met Mr Browne and his cabinet at a meeting on Monday during the third leg of their Caribbean tour.

Mr Browne told the couple: "We continue to have the Queen as our head of state, even though I should say we aspire at some point to become a republic.

"But that is not currently on the cards so she will remain as head of state for some time to follow.

"We're not trying to embarrass you, we're just trying to build awareness."

The Earl and Countess of Wessex were asked by the island's government to use their influence to help the country get reparations


The prime minister also called on the earl and countess to use their "diplomatic influence" to help the country receive "reparatory justice".

Mr Brown said: "Our civilisation should understand the atrocities that took place during colonialism and slavery and the fact that we have to bring balance by having open discussions...

"You can even use your, let's say, diplomatic influence to build bridges in achieving the reparatory justice that we seek here in the Caribbean.

"Because the reality is we have been left and bereft of important institutions such as universities and good medicinal facilities."

The meeting comes after the royal couple were met by protests during their visit to St Vincent and the Grenadines on Saturday, where banners were held aloft saying "compensation now" and "Britain your debt is outstanding".

Antigua and Barbuda were colonised by Britain in the 17th century, before being granted independence in 1981.

The countess played steel drums with secondary school pupils during the visit to Antigua and Barbuda


In an open letter to the couple, the Antigua and Barbuda Reparations Support Commission asked "why is it so hard for you to sincerely apologise for your nation's role in slavery?"

Explaining their call for reparations, it added that in the Caribbean "many still live in deep persistent poverty and social despair" and it asked for a "constructive strategy" with Britain and European countries to address economic development gaps in the region.

The impact of slavery also dominated coverage of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's tour to Jamaica, Belize and the Bahamas in March.


Republics and reparations

By Celestina Olulode, BBC News

Symbols matter, particularly when they are a reminder of a painful past. For many Caribbeans, becoming a republic is as about leaving colonialism behind and having complete autonomy.

I was reminded of this when I was in Barbados last year to report on the island transitioning to a republic.

Conversations around republicanism are not new, but recent royal visits have garnered widespread media attention.

For some Caribbeans, royal visits are an opportunity to express their views to the world. The debate around reparations sits within that conversation.

Throughout the Caribbean, there is widespread support for compensation for the descendants of enslaved Africans.

Those demands are sometimes met with surprise by people abroad. But a strong indication of that support was highlighted by a ten-point plan proposed by the Caricom Reparations Commission.

Caricom is an intergovernmental organisation which comprises 15 member states including Barbados, Jamaica and Antigua and Barbuda.

The main aim of the 10-point plan was to achieve reparatory justice for the victims of slavery. In 2014 it was unanimously approved. The commission was advised by the law firm Leigh Day.

During a visit to Barbados in 2021, Buckingham Palace said that issue of reparations was a political matter for individual governments to address.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×