What then of the future? Despite the result of the 1999 Australian Referendum, which voted against replacing the Queen with an elected President as Australia’s Head of State, it is likely that the number of Commonwealth countries recognising the Queen as their Sovereign will diminish over time.
Rwanda and Mozambique became members in 2009 and 1995 respectively, though neither were colonised by the British.
The club has also lost members in the past.
Robert Mugabe took Zimbabwe out in 2003 after its membership was suspended amid reports of election rigging. It applied in 2018 to be readmitted, but no decision has been reached yet.
Pakistan was suspended after a military coup in 1999 and was re-admitted four-and-a-half years later.
South Africa withdrew in 1961 after it was criticised by Commonwealth members for its apartheid policies. It became a member again in 1994.
The Maldives left in 2016, but it rejoined in 2020. Barbados became a Republic in 2021, but has not (yet) left the Commonwealth.
Whether a member country is a republic or a monarchy has of course no bearing on that country’s status in the association, being the issue that the London Agreement of 1949 laid to rest. And yet confusion on the matter continues.
True, there have been some who have advocated different arrangements for the Headship of the Commonwealth. The veteran left-winger Tony Benn, for instance, advocated a rotating leadership, democratically elected, and a report by the Foreign Policy Centre in London raised the spectre of a Commonwealth President, but there has never been any evidence of Commonwealth Governments being attracted by these ideas.
Indeed, the creation at the Durban summit of 1999 of the inelegantly-titled position of Chairperson-In-Office has probably reduced the enthusiasm of the advocates of a Commonwealth President, rather than the opposite. The limitations of the post being filled by a political figure, involved directly (and sometimes controversially) in key regional and international issues have become evident.
Paradoxically, while the Queen’s Realms may diminish in number over time, her role and status as Head of the Commonwealth has increased. Contrary to popular perception, the Queen’s role at the CHOGM used to be highly discreet – in the wings of the meeting but never within its portals – but since the Edinburgh CHOGM of 1997, not only does she attend the opening session of the summit but she also delivers a keynote speech.
There is a widespread expectation that when the Queen ceases to be Head, Prince Charles will be the ready successor. Time alone will tell, but of one thing there is no doubt: that across the Commonwealth there will be no desire to lose the vast knowledge and experience of the Commonwealth which the Queen possesses, or her wise and trusted leadership, a moment sooner than necessary ■
See also: The Queen and Her Prime Ministers: a Platinum Jubilee Review
