Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Woken at 5am by police at the bedroom door: How Commonwealth leaders heard the Queen had died

Woken at 5am by police at the bedroom door: How Commonwealth leaders heard the Queen had died

Queen Elizabeth was mourned across the 54-nation Commonwealth, a group built around Britain and its former colonies.

The prime minister of New Zealand has told how she was woken at 5am by a police officer shining a torch into her bedroom to tell her the news of the Queen's death.

Jacinda Ardern's anecdote, and subsequent heartfelt tribute to Her Majesty, is one of many from the heads of Commonwealth nations.

New Zealand


Under New Zealand's constitutional arrangements, the queen was also the country's monarch and head of state, and Ms Ardern described her as "extraordinary".

"The last days of the queen's life captures who she was in so many ways - working until the very end on behalf of the people she loved," she said.

She added that, like many other people, she was feeling not only deep sadness but also deep gratitude.

"Here is a woman who gave her life, utterly, to the service of others. And regardless of what anyone thinks of the role of monarchies around the world, there is undeniably, I think here, a display of someone who gave everything on behalf of her people, and her people included the people of Aotearoa New Zealand."

Nigeria


Another of the Commonwealth nations, Nigeria, gained independence from the British in 1960, four years after the late Queen's first official visit to the West African nation.

When the monarch last visited in 2003, she spoke of Nigeria's critical role in the Commonwealth and applauded the country for its "leading part in the new partnership for Africa's development".

Muhammadu Buhari, its president, expressed "immense sadness" over her death.


"Her late Majesty was the only British sovereign known to 90% of our population," he said, describing the late Queen's reign as "unique and wonderful".

He added: "The story of modern Nigeria will never be complete without a chapter on Queen Elizabeth ll, a towering global personality and an outstanding leader.

"She dedicated her life to making her nation, the Commonwealth and the entire world a better place."

The Queen's death comes as a growing number of British territories in the Caribbean seek to replace the monarch with their own heads of state, as demands grow that Britain apologises for its colonial-era abuses and award its former colonies slavery reparations.

Nonetheless, Caribbean leaders from Jamaica to Bermuda and beyond mourned the Queen's death.

Jamaica


Andrew Holness, the Jamaican prime minister, noted that since she was crowned in 1953, the Queen visited the island every decade until 2002.

"Undoubtedly, she formed a special bond with the people of Jamaica during her reign," he said. "We are saddened that we will not see her light again, but we will remember her historic reign."

In March, when Prince William and Kate visited Jamaica as part of an official trip to the Caribbean, Mr Holness made an unexpected announcement in public that the British Commonwealth country intended to become fully independent.

Since then, Jamaica has established a Constitution Reform Committee and is scheduled to hold a referendum in 2025. If approved, it would join other republics in the region including Barbados, Dominica, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after signing the condolence book at Parliament House in Canberra


Australia


The Queen was Australia's official head of state, though today the role is considered primarily ceremonial.

Anthony Albanese, the prime minister, said she is the only reigning monarch most Australians have known and the only one to visit their country.

"And over the course of a remarkable seven decades, Her Majesty was a rare and reassuring constant amidst rapid change," he said.

"Through the noise and turbulence of the years, she embodied and exhibited a timeless decency and an enduring calm."

Canada


Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called her "a constant presence in our lives".

"Her service to Canadians will forever remain an important part of our country's history," he said.

"I'm having trouble believing that my last sit-down with her was my last," Mr Trudeau added. "I will so miss those chats."

The Queen, who was Canada's head of state, visited the country 22 times as monarch.

Ghana


In Ghana, which became a member of the Commonwealth in 1957, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo recalled Elizabeth's visits and praised "the friendliness, elegance, style and sheer joy she brought to the performance of her duties".

"We shall miss her inspiring presence, her calm, her steadiness, and, above all, her great love and belief in the higher purpose of the Commonwealth of Nations, and in its capacity to be a force for good in our world," he said.

Bermuda


Bermuda Premier David Burt noted her reign "has spanned decades of such immense change for the United Kingdom and the world".

He said she had lived a life of "undimmed duty" and was a "model of strength and devotion to country".

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
×