When the King makes his first public address since his cancer diagnosis today, the occasion could not be more fitting. The monarch will address, via video, a full house at Westminster Abbey’s multi-faith Commonwealth service. No one knows the Commonwealth as well as Charles III. He grew up around its founding fathers. As Prince of Wales, his credentials – not least as an environmentalist – were such that the Commonwealth summit unanimously endorsed him as future head in 2018. But 2024, which marks the 75th anniversary of the Commonwealth, will be a challenging year for the organisation – and the King’s diplomatic skills will be vital if it is to navigate these difficulties successfully.

The Royal Family cannot enter the decolonisation debate

Ominous fault lines are opening up, posing potential problems both for the organisation and for the King himself. Two major Commonwealth nations, India and South Africa, have abstained from all UN action against Russia’s assault on Ukraine (both were noticeably absent from the detachment of Commonwealth troops at the King’s Coronation). On the day it was announced that the Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, had perished, it emerged that a senior delegation from South Africa’s ruling ANC was in Moscow for a cosy conference on ‘decolonisation’. Last week, Moscow announced that there would be a ‘Russia Africa Summit’ in Sochi this autumn, at around the same time as the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa. No matter that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is brazen imperialism of the most brutal kind, Moscow has found that posing as the champion of ‘decolonisation’, invoking memories of Soviet-era solidarity with Marxist independence struggles, still plays well.

Meanwhile, the Caricom group of Caribbean nations concluded their latest summit last month with a pledge to put reparations for slavery squarely on the agenda at this year’s Commonwealth gathering.

QOSHE - Can the King save the Commonwealth? - Robert Hardman
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Can the King save the Commonwealth?

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11.03.2024

When the King makes his first public address since his cancer diagnosis today, the occasion could not be more fitting. The monarch will address, via video, a full house at Westminster Abbey’s multi-faith Commonwealth service. No one knows the Commonwealth as well as Charles III. He grew up around its founding fathers. As Prince of Wales, his credentials – not least as an environmentalist – were such that the Commonwealth summit unanimously endorsed him as future head in 2018. But 2024,........

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