Barbados Becomes World’s Newest Republic, Removes Queen Elizabeth II
Barbados Becomes World’s Newest Republic, Removes Queen Elizabeth II President of Barbados Dame Sandra Mason (C) receives the New Colours during the ceremony to declare Barbados a Republic and the Inauguration of the President of Barbados at Heroes Square in Bridgetown, Barbados, on November 30, 2021. Randy Brooks / AFP Fireworks filled the sky over Barbados on Tuesday as the Caribbean island nation declared itself the world’s newest republic, lowering Queen Elizabeth’s flag as it severed colonial-era ties to the British throne to the sound of jubilant gun salutes. “Republic B arbados has set sail on her maiden voyage,” Dame Sandra Mason said in her inauguration speech as the first president of the country, recognizing the “complex, fractured and turbulent world” it would need to navigate. “Our country must dream big dreams and fight to realize them,” the former governor-general told those gathered for the ceremony, including Britain’s Prince Charles. The new era for the nation of