Antigua and Barbuda seek independence from the reign of Charles III

Antigua and Barbuda to vote to remove King Charles III as head of state, prime minister says

R. gelfenstein - After confirming King Charles III as King of Antigua and Barbuda on Saturday, Prime Minister Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda told ITV News that he plans to hold a referendum on whether the country will become a republic in the next three years. .

The prime minister said the Caribbean country will hold a referendum to become a republic and remove King Carlos III as head of state in the coming years.

"This is an issue that must be put to a referendum for the people to decide," he said. He added that he did not intend to "represent any form of disrespect to the monarch. This is not an act of hostility, nor is there any difference between Antigua and Barbuda and the monarchy."

He explained that it would be "a final step in completing the circle of independence to become a truly sovereign nation."

In his first interview since the Queen’s death, the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, tells ITV News reporter @IanWoodsMedia he will hold a referendum on becoming a republic within three years

Read the story: https://t.co/4wEOUHF90w pic.twitter.com/cxsyfwNNUM

— ITV News (@itvnews) September 10, 2022

Questions about the monarchy's continued role in the region arose in March after then-Duke and Duchess of Cambridge William and Kate visited three Commonwealth kingdoms — Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas — on a trip to celebrate their 70th birthday. Queen Elizabeth.

The trip was fraught with obstacles and Jamaica's prime minister told them the country was "moving forward" and would achieve its "true ambition" to be "independent".

Last year, Barbados severed its last imperial ties with Britain and declared itself a republic.