Shortly before the coronation of King Charles III. A poll on Saturday cast doubt on the future of the British monarchs’ global empire. Charles (74) is head of state in 15 states, including Canada and Australia as well as countries in the Caribbean and Oceania. In many countries and territories, a majority of people now favor abolishing the monarchy, according to a poll released on Friday.
More than 50% of respondents in the Bahamas (51%) and the Solomon Islands (59%) said they would vote for the abolition of the monarchy in a referendum. Pollster Lord Ashcroft said anti-monarchy opponents outnumbered royalists in Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, Jamaica, UK-owned Antigua and Barbuda.
Barbados has already said goodbye
In the Caribbean in particular, support for the monarchy is waning. There, rejection is often accompanied by demands for apologies or even reparations for injustices suffered as a result of colonialism and slavery. At the end of 2021, the island state of Barbados separated from the monarchy. It is expected that Jamaica and others may soon follow.
Jamaica’s Minister for Constitutional Affairs, Marlene Malahoo Forte, told British television channel Sky News that a referendum could be held as early as next year.
Tuvalu is friendly to the monarchy
Support for the monarchy is highest in the Pacific island nation of Tuvalu and England and Wales, where around 70% of those polled said they would vote for keeping the monarchy in a referendum .
In total, more than 22,000 people were interviewed between February 6 and March 23. The question was: “If there was a referendum tomorrow, how would you vote?” Respondents could choose from three options: “Let my country remain a constitutional monarchy with King Charles as head of state”, “I don’t know, I wouldn’t vote” and “Let my country become a republic”.
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