No Royals for Head of the Commonwealth Please

The dilemma over who should take over as Head of the Commonwealth when Queen Elizabeth II dies has been covered previously on this website but it has bobbed up again. Media in Britain report that preliminary officials meetings were considering the matter in order to present recommendations to the formal meeting of Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) in London in April. This was immediately denied. Of greater concern to WfaAR, were further unsubstantiated reports that the Queen  – current Head of the Commonwealth for no particular reason other than her father, King George VI was its first head – has already sent emissaries throughout the Commonwealth to lobby for her son to take over when he becomes King of England (because he has such a great interest in and experience of visiting 41 out of 53 Commonwealth countries) and the appearance of blatantly self-interested interference in the affairs of the Commonwealth. Nalini Mohabir, Professor of Postcolonialism, Ryerson University Toronto, provides an insightful contribution on the subject addressing: how can a colonial institution champion multiculturalism? Her response: “it can start by electing its leader, not conferring it by birth”. This issues in this matter bear a striking ressemblance to the selection of an Australian Head of State – and may be as long in resolution. [“The next head of the Commonwealth must not be a royal from Brexit Britain” by Nalini Mohabir, The Guardian online, 13 February 2018].