I think Lord_Feldon was pointing out that when George VI died, it was only four months until the next June, which was too short a time for preparations so it was pushed out a year. (Every monarch since Victoria has been crowned in May or June, when the weather is likely to be better for a spectacle, except Edward VII whose scheduled June coronation was postponed to August when he had emergency surgery three days before.)
Here, if they want a June date they have nine months until the next, or 21 months if they push to 2024. They don’t think they need 21 months.
I believe what Lord_Feldon meant that the June following the last accession being only 4-5 months from the prior monarch’s death, it led to the coronation being scheduled for a whole year+ later, if you wanted a June coronation.
Depends on how you count, actually. Certainly in 1953 the Brits had colonies covering vast swathes of Africa, etc., and now the Empire is gone However, the number of realms, the places where he is King of _____, is actually longer now (mostly because former colonies have become independent nations).
In 1953, Elizabeth was Queen of Australia, Canada, Ceylon, New Zealand, Pakistan, and South Africa as well as the United Kingdom (seven realms).
As of today, Charles is King of Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and the United Kingdom (fifteen realms). [He may lose a few before his coronation: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, and Jamaica each have announced plans to hold a referendum on whether to retain the monarchy or become a republic, although all are expected to remain within the Commonwealth regardless of outcome.]
While the number of Commonwealth realms is higher than in 1952 - mainly due to decolonisation, as you point out - it’s worth pointing out that the turnover is fairly high. 35 countries have been Commonwealth realms at one time or another; only 15 still are. The majority of Commonwealth realms have already become republics, on average taking between 13 and 14 years to do so.
Two realms transitioned to republics even before Elizabeth came to the the throne - Ireland (1949) and India (1950). The other 18 made the transition during Elizabeth’s reign which means that, by her death, she had lost more thrones than she had retained. 15 countries both became realms and transitioned to republics during her reign meaning, in all likelihood, that Elizabeth is the only monarch they ever had and ever will have.
Will new C III R insignia be made and distributed to all British police and military personnel who bore the late Queen’s cypher on their uniforms, or will they wait until the old ones have worn out? That could take quite awhile.
What does this mean exactly? How does a country become a republic but remain within the commonwealth? By becoming a republic I assume that means that Jamaica, for example, would have a head of state who isn’t the Governor General appointed by the monarch. Presumably they would elect a president to serve as head of state along with their prime minister who serves as head of government, and presumably that president would be Jamaican (or Bahamian, Antiguan, etc.).
To put it a different way, are there countries who are currently part of the Commonwealth but whose head of state isn’t King Charles III?
I did the math for Patrick London The Commonwealth currently has 56 members, of which 15 are Commonwealth realms with Charles as head of state, 36 are republics (most have a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government, but for example Zambia and the Seychelles have a presidential system [no P.M.]), and 5 are monarchies with a different ruler (the Sultan of Brunei and the Kings of Eswatini, Lesotho, Malaysia, and Tonga). Being a member nation of the Commonwealth does not impose a requirement of any particular political system, but rather each is supposed to share common values such as democracy and the rule of law.
The gossip is that he doesn’t want to annoy the tax-paying voters with a really expensive event, so his coronation will be a lot more modest than the last few. Smaller parade, smaller logistical prep.
The Commonwealth currently has 56 members, of which 15 are Commonwealth realms with Charles as head of state, 36 are republics (most have a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government, but for example Zambia and the Seychelles have a presidential system [no P.M.]), and 5 are monarchies with a different ruler (the Sultan of Brunei and the Kings of Eswatini, Lesotho, Malaysia, and Tonga). Being a member nation of the Commonwealth does not impose a requirement of any particular political system, but rather each is supposed to share common values such as democracy and the rule of law.