In the years since the British Commonwealth dropped the “British” bit in 1949, two people have held the title of Head of the Commonwealth: George VI until 1952 and Elizabeth II until now. The world has changed out of recognition in that time, and the Commonwealth with it. The Queen, though, has been a constant. She has carried out her role assiduously. But the title is not hereditary.
So, what should happen next? The question is being asked, discreetly and decorously, in London this week as part of a review by a seven person “high-level group” of Commonwealth officials and former ministers. The review is a sensible exercise in succession planning. It is particularly important for an organisation that has been embodied for so long by one person, but which has itself undergone transformative evolution during those years.
The eight member states of 1949, all former parts of the British empire, have now become 53 independent states, the majority of them republics not monarchies and some with no British connection at all. Although the Commonwealth emerged out of empire, words like British and Crown, which featured prominently in the founding London declaration 68 years ago, are nowhere to be seen in today’s Charter of the Commonwealth, adopted in 2013.
This is as it should be. The Commonwealth is a classic piece of soft power. It is a useful, often unsung, network of values, mutuality and nations. But it has outgrown both its original Britishness and any need for allegiance to the British Crown. There is no reason other than tradition why its head and embodiment should invariably be the British monarch. As the Commonwealth prepares for the next phase of its existence, it makes sense to look more widely for a head who embodies the organisation in more contemporary and diverse ways.
Traditionalists will still favour the future King Charles III. But the 21st-century Commonwealth can do better. It needs a new kind of head, with leadership skills, global appeal, multicultural sensitivities and the ability to embody the Commonwealth’s immense power for good in new times. There is no legal need for the head to be from the Commonwealth itself. The member nations can pick anyone they wish, providing they can reach consensus. We have, therefore, a suggestion of our own. The next head of the Commonwealth should be Barack Obama.
