Head of the Commonwealth

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Head of the Commonwealth
Prince Charles in Aotearoa (cropped).jpg
Incumbent
Charles III
since 8 September 2022
Seat Marlborough House, London
Appointer Commonwealth heads of government
Term length Life tenure
Inaugural holder George VI
Formation April 1949; 73 years ago
Website thecommonwealth.org
The head of the Commonwealth is the ceremonial leader who symbolises "the
free association of independent member nations" of the Commonwealth of
Nations, an intergovernmental organisation that currently comprises 56
sovereign states. There is no set term of office or term limit and the
role itself involves no part in the day-to-day governance of any of the
member states within the Commonwealth. The position is currently held by
King Charles III.[1]

By 1949, the British Commonwealth was a group of eight countries, each

having King George VI as monarch. India, however, desired to become a
republic, but not to leave the Commonwealth by doing so. This was
accommodated by the creation of the title Head of the Commonwealth for
the King and India became a republic in 1950. Subsequently during the
reign of Queen Elizabeth II, other nations, including Pakistan, Sri
Lanka, Ghana, and Singapore also became republics, but, as members of the
Commonwealth of Nations, recognised her as Head of the Commonwealth.[2]

Contents
1 History
2 Title
3 Roles and duties
4 Succession
5 List of heads
6 See also
7 Notes
8 Footnotes
9 External links
History

The Commonwealth Prime Ministers with the King at Buckingham Palace for
the Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference, 1949
In 1949, George VI was king of each of the countries that then comprised
the British Commonwealth (later the Commonwealth of Nations): the United
Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan,
and Ceylon. However, the Indian Cabinet desired the country to become a
republic, but not to leave the Commonwealth as a consequence of no longer
having George VI as king, as happened to Ireland. To accommodate this,
the London Declaration, issued in late April 1949,[3][4][5][6] and
devised by Canadian Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent, stated that the
King, as the symbol of the free association of the countries of the
Commonwealth, was the head of the Commonwealth. When India adopted a
republican constitution on 26 January 1950, George VI ceased to be its
monarch (the president of India, Rajendra Prasad, became head of state),
but it did regard him as Head of the Commonwealth.

Elizabeth II became Head of the Commonwealth on her accession in 1952,

stating at the time, "the Commonwealth bears no resemblance to the
empires of the past. It is an entirely new conception built on the
highest qualities of the spirit of man: friendship, loyalty, and the
desire for freedom and peace."[7] The following year, a Royal Style and
Titles Act was passed in each of the Commonwealth realms, adding for the
first time the term Head of the Commonwealth to the monarch's titles.

The Queen had a personal flag created in December 1960 to symbolise her
as Head of the Commonwealth without being associated with her role as
queen of any particular country. Over time, the flag replaced the British
Royal Standard when the Queen visited Commonwealth countries of which she
was head of state but did not possess a royal standard for that country,
[8] or of which she was not head of state, as well as on Commonwealth
occasions in the United Kingdom. When the Queen visited the headquarters
of the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, this personal standard—not any
of her royal standards—was raised.[9]

Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney said Elizabeth was a

"behind the scenes force" in ending apartheid in South Africa.[10][11]
[non sequitur]

After the Queen's death on 8 September 2022, King Charles III became Head
of the Commonwealth.

Title
The title was devised in the London Declaration as a result of
discussions at the 1949 Commonwealth Prime Ministers' Conference. It is
rendered in Latin as Consortionis Populorum Princeps,[12][13][14] and in
French as Chef du Commonwealth.[15]

Roles and duties

The head of the Commonwealth is recognised by the members of the
Commonwealth of Nations as the "symbol of their free association" and
serves as a leader, alongside the Commonwealth Secretary-General and
Commonwealth Chair-in-Office. Although Elizabeth II was queen of 15
member-states of the Commonwealth, she did not have any role in the
governance of any Commonwealth state by virtue of her role as head of the
Commonwealth. She kept in touch with Commonwealth developments through
regular contact with the Commonwealth secretary general and the
Secretariat, the Commonwealth's central organisation.[16]

The head of the Commonwealth or a representative attends the biennial

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), held at locations
throughout the Commonwealth. This is a tradition begun by the monarch on
the advice of Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1973,[17] when
the CHOGM was first held in Canada. During the summit, the head of the
Commonwealth has a series of private meetings with Commonwealth
countries' heads of government, attends a CHOGM reception and dinner, and
makes a general speech.

The head of the Commonwealth or a representative has also been present at

the quadrennial Commonwealth Games. The Queen's Baton Relay, held prior
to the beginning of the Commonwealth Games, carried a message from the
head of the Commonwealth to all Commonwealth Nations and territories.[18]
[19]

Every year on Commonwealth Day, the second Monday in March, Queen

Elizabeth II broadcast a special message to all the peoples of the
Commonwealth, about 2.5 billion people.[20] That same day, she attended
the inter-denominational Commonwealth Day Service held at Westminster
Abbey.[21]

Queen Elizabeth II and Commonwealth Prime Ministers at Windsor Castle,

1960
Queen Elizabeth II and Commonwealth Prime Ministers at Windsor Castle,
1960

Elizabeth II at the closing ceremony of the Brisbane Commonwealth Games,

1982
Elizabeth II at the closing ceremony of the Brisbane Commonwealth Games,
1982

Elizabeth II passing the Baton to President Patil of India for the Baton
relay for the Delhi Commonwealth Games, 2009
Elizabeth II passing the Baton to President Patil of India for the Baton
relay for the Delhi Commonwealth Games, 2009

Elizabeth II arriving at the Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony at

Glasgow, 2014
Elizabeth II arriving at the Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony at
Glasgow, 2014

Succession

The Head of the Commonwealth delivering the inaugural address at the

CHOGM 2011 in Perth, Australia
The position of Head of the Commonwealth is not hereditary and successors
are chosen by the leaders of the Commonwealth.[22] Once in office, there
is no term limit, so the incumbent is practically chosen for life.

By 2018, with Elizabeth II in her 90s, there had been discussions for
some time about whether her eldest son, Charles, or someone else should
become the third head of the Commonwealth.[23] The London Declaration
states that "The King [acts] as the symbol of the free association of its
independent member nations and as such the Head of the Commonwealth",
whereby both republics and kingdoms that are not Commonwealth realms can
recognise the monarch as Head of the Commonwealth without accepting the
person as the country's head of state. Though each Commonwealth realm's
laws on royal titles and styles made Head of the Commonwealth part of the
Queen's full title,[citation needed] and Queen Elizabeth II declared in
1958, through the letters patent creating Prince Charles as Prince of
Wales, that Charles and his heirs and successors shall be future heads of
the Commonwealth,[24][25][26][dubious – discuss] there have been
conflicting statements on how successors to the position of Head of the
Commonwealth are chosen. While the Commonwealth Secretariat asserted any
successor would be chosen collectively by the Commonwealth heads of
government,[27] Commonwealth heads of government, such as the then prime
minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, had already referred to Prince
Charles as "the future head of the Commonwealth",[28] and in 2015 the
then prime minister of New Zealand, John Key, said, "the title [of Head
of the Commonwealth] should just go with the Crown".[29]

Commentators in British newspapers discussed whether it should be a one-

off decision to elect Prince Charles to the headship, whether the British
monarch should automatically become head of the Commonwealth, or whether
the post should be elected or chosen by consensus.[30][31][32] There was
also speculation that a rotating ceremonial "republican" headship might
be instituted.[33][34] The Daily Telegraph reported that "the post is not
hereditary and many leaders want an elected head to make the organisation
more democratic."[35]

In 2018, following the 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting,

Commonwealth leaders declared that Charles would be the next head of the
Commonwealth,[36] while the role remained non-hereditary.[37][38]
Consequently, after the Queen's death on 8 September 2022, Charles
automatically became Head of the Commonwealth.[1]

List of heads
No. Portrait Name Term
Start End Duration
1 King George VI LOC matpc.14736 (cleaned).jpg George VI
(1895–1952) 26/28 April 1949[n 1] 6 February 1952 2 years, 284 days
2 Queen Elizabeth II official portrait for 1959 tour (retouched)
(cropped) (3-to-4 aspect ratio).jpg Elizabeth II
(1926–2022) 6 February 1952 8 September 2022 70 years, 214 days
3 Charles Prince of Wales.jpg Charles III
(born 1948) 8 September 2022 Incumbent 124 days
See also
Timeline of the Commonwealth of Nations
List of titles and honours of George VI
List of titles and honours of Elizabeth II
List of titles and honours of Charles III
Style of the British sovereign
Title and style of the Canadian monarch
Notes
Based on the London Declaration.[3]
Footnotes
The Commonwealth - About Us, TheCommonwealth.org. Retrieved 10 September
2022
"Our history". Commonwealth. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
London Declaration 1949 (PDF), Commonwealth Secretariat, archived from
the original (PDF) on 27 September 2012, retrieved 2 April 2013
 S. A. de Smith (1949), "The London Declaration of the Commonwealth Prime
Ministers, April 28, 1949", The Modern Law Review, Wiley on behalf of the
Modern Law Review, 12 (3): 351–354, doi:10.1111/j.1468-
2230.1949.tb00131.x, JSTOR 1090506
Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family: A Glorious Illustrated History,
Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2016, p. 118, ISBN 9780241296653
"MEETING of PRIME MINISTERS, APRIL, 1949 Text of Final Communique Issued
at the Conclusion of the Meeting of Prime Ministers Held at London from
22 to 27 April, 1949, Together with Press Statement by the Right Hon. P.
Fraser London, 28 April, 1949". Papers Past. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
"Head of the Commonwealth". Commonwealth Secretariat. Archived from the
original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
"Personal Flags". Royal Household. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
"Mailbox". Royal Insight. September 2006. p. 3. Archived from the
original on 19 November 2008.
Geddes, John (2012). "The day she descended into the fray". Maclean's
(Special Commemorative Edition: The Diamond Jubilee: Celebrating 60
Remarkable years ed.): 72.
MacQueen, Ken; Treble, Patricia (2012). "The Jewel in the Crown".
Maclean's (Special Commemorative Edition: The Diamond Jubilee:
Celebrating 60 Remarkable years ed.): 43–44.
"Biography of Elizabeth II (UK)". archontology.org.
"Burke's Peerage".
"No. 39873". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 May 1953. pp. 3023–
3023.
"Lois codifiées Règlements codifiés". Site Web de la législation
(Justice). 1 January 2003. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
"Commonwealth Governance". Royal.uk. 11 March 2016. Retrieved 24
September 2021.
Heinricks, Geoff (2001), "Trudeau and the monarchy; National Post",
Canadian Monarchist News, vol. Winter/Spring 2000–2001, Toronto:
Monarchist League of Canada, archived from the original on 22 June 2008,
retrieved 26 February 2010
"Queen's baton relay". Archived from the original on 7 February 2018.
Retrieved 4 April 2018.
"Commonwealth Games: Queen's Baton Relay route announced". Retrieved 24
September 2021.
The Commonwealth Yearbook 2006, Commonwealth Secretariat, 2006, p. 21,
ISBN 9780954962944
Robert Hardman (2007), A Year with the Queen, Touchstone, p. 208, ISBN
9781416563488
"About us". The Commonwealth. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
Landale, James (13 February 2018). "Commonwealth in secret succession
plans". BBC News.
Elizabeth II, Letters Patent creating Prince Charles Prince of Wales and
E