The Commonwealth Realms: A Thorn in the Side of the British Monarchy?

Abstract

The death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022 has given renewed momentum to claims for a republic in a significant number of Commonwealth realms, while also revealing how confused the perception of the role of the British monarch in the Commonwealth is. The latter is indeed both the head of 15 Commonwealth states, and since 1949, has been the “Head of the Commonwealth” as an international organisation of sovereign independent states. With a special focus on the case of Commonwealth realms, this article proposes to examine the extent to which these two roles of the monarch in the Commonwealth are compatible. While the monarch’s position as head of the Commonwealth, mainly shaped by Queen Elizabeth II throughout her reign, conveys the image of the head of a multicultural and multiracial “family of nations”, his role as constitutional monarch of his 14 “other realms”, might well undermine the legitimacy of the monarchy, at both international and national levels, and particularly in the context of increased global demands for reparations and decolonial justice.