Prince Charles
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)Prince Charles is set to give his blessing to Commonwealth countries that want to sever ties with the Royal family, according to reports.
The Prince of Wales, 73, has travelled to Rwanda to speak at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on Friday.
In a speech at the Chogm opening ceremony, his first as the Commonwealth’s future leader, he will say that “each member’s constitutional arrangement” is “purely a matter for each member country to decide”.
In 2021 Barbados became the latest Commonwealth nation to break away from the monarchy and become a republic.
It followed other Caribbean nations which have dispensed with the Queen as their head of state and turned to a homegrown representative, with Guyana becoming a republic in 1970, Trinidad and Tobago in 1976, and Dominica two years later.
In recent years Jamaica has also signalled it wants an elected head of state, with Prime Minister Andrew Holness saying it is a priority for his government.
In a speech at the opening ceremony on Friday morning, the Prince of Wales will say: “Our Commonwealth family is – and will always remain – a free association of independent self-governing nations.
“We meet and talk as equals, sharing our knowledge and experience for the betterment of all citizens of the Commonwealth and, indeed, the wider world.”
According to the Telegraph, he will add: “The Commonwealth contains within it countries that have had constitutional relationships with my family, some that continue to do so, and increasingly those that have had none.
“I want to say clearly, as I have said before, that each member’s constitutional arrangement, as republic or monarchy, is purely a matter for each member country to decide.
“The benefit of long life brings me the experience that arrangements such as these can change, calmly and without rancour.
“But as I said in Barbados last November, we should never forget the things which do not change: the close and trusted partnership between Commonwealth members; our common values and shared goals; and, perhaps most importantly, the strong and enduring connections between the peoples of the Commonwealth which strengthen us all.”
It comes after Boris Johnson urged Prince Charles to keep an “open mind” about the Rwanda asylum plan ahead of their meeting on Friday.
The Prime Minister said he was ready to defend his policy after Charles was reported to have privately criticised it as “appalling”.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman initially said the pair would have a “bilateral discussion” but subsequently clarified that it will be “informal”.
Asked on Thursday if he will defend the deportation strategy during the meeting, Mr Johnson said: “People need to keep an open mind about the policy, the critics need to keep an open mind about the policy. A lot of people can see its obvious merits. So yeah, of course, if I am seeing the Prince tomorrow, I am going to be making that point.”
