Will Canada and Australia drop Queen as head? Meghan's 'racist' claim damages monarchy in Commonwealth
Meghan Markle's and Prince Harry's explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey continues to have repercussions on the British royal family as calls to abolish the monarchy in former British colonies have gained ground. In the Commonwealth realms, which are sovereign states, Queen Elizabeth II serves as the monarch and head of state. Each realm functions as an independent co-equal kingdom from other realms.
As of 2021, there are 16 Commonwealth realms, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Grenada, Belize, Jamaica, The Bahamas, Barbados, and more. Last year, the Barbados government decided to remove Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state by November 2021, with Governor General Sandra Mason saying, "The time has come for us to leave our colonial past behind."
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The Sussexes interview with Oprah Winfrey aired over the weekend, which coincided with Commonwealth Day and included some bombshell reveals, in which Markle spoke about her deep struggles during her time with the royal family. Markle reflected on her "suicidal thoughts" while living there and confessed that she did not receive any help from the royal family in her dark days. However, the most damning revelation came when Markle told Oprah that an unnamed royal spoke to Prince Harry about the then-unborn Archie's skin color and what it would mean.
Markle's remarks have renewed claims from countries such as Canada and Australia to renew the debate to leave the Commonwealth. The day after the interview, former Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the interview showed that Australia's official head of state "should be an Australian citizen, should be one of us, not the queen or king of the United Kingdom." He also noted that while many Australians are fans of Queen Elizabeth II, it was unclear whether they would embrace her successor.
Similar sentiments are being echoed in other Commonwealth country, Canada, where a poll in February found that the desire among Canadians to drop the Queen as their head was at the highest level recorded in the past 12 years, with 45 percent of Canadians saying they would prefer to have an elected head of state instead of the Queen when considering Canada's constitution.
Moreover, experts believe that the interview of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex could add fire to the brewing sentiment that the British monarchy is growing less relevant for many Canadians. However, constitutional expert Emmett Macfarlane believes that public allegiance remains divided and that getting rid of the monarchy would lead to a complicated constitutional debate that could plunge the country into political turmoil. The Washington Post reported that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a press conference on Tuesday, March 9, "I can understand some people are looking for constitutional conversations. I am not going to engage in those right now. I am focused on getting us through this pandemic.”
Canada and Australia are not the only countries considering the move. After Barbados announced that it was severing ties with the British monarchy, other Caribbean countries such as Jamaica, St Lucia and St Vincent, and the Grenadines, have expressed interest in leaving the monarchy behind, according to The Washington Post. Jamaican journalist Dionne Jackson Miller tweeted after the interview aired, "Just a reminder that in 2021 the Queen is still Jamaica's head of state. The head of a family where Meghan says ppl were talking about how dark her son's skin would be And she is way lighter skinned than most of us Cd this be a turning point?? #HarryandMeghanonOprah."
Just a reminder that in 2021 the Queen is still Jamaica's head of state.
— Dionne JacksonMiller (@djmillerJA) March 8, 2021
The head of a family where Meghan says ppl were talking about how dark her son's skin would be
And she is way lighter skinned than most of us
Cd this be a turning point??#HarryandMeghanonOprah