Showing posts with label commonwealth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label commonwealth. Show all posts

Friday, September 9, 2022

King Charles's 15 Countries: The Commonwealth Realms

Did you know the new King Charles III isn't just the King of England and the larger UK, but of 14 other independent countries? If that statement just raises more questions for you, read on for all the answers...

Map of countries with King Charles III as head of state, which are known as the Commonwealth realms. Includes the UK, Canada, Australia, and a number of small countries in Oceania and the Caribbean. Also shows former Commonwealth realms, including large parts of Africa and South Asia. Colorblind accessible.
Map of the Commonwealth realms (independent countries that share the monarchy with Britain). Click to enlarge. Contact us for permission to use this map.

 

This article, originally written during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, has been revised and updated to for the passing of the throne to her son, King Charles III.

Which countries does King Charles reign over?

You might be surprised to learn that King Charles III is the official king of 15 different independent countries. Those countries are together known as the "Commonwealth realms" - a smaller subset of the Commonwealth of Nations, which also includes many kingless republics. Every one of the 15 Commonwealth realms is considered a fully-fledged independent country and a member of the UN, despite sharing the same monarch. 

Saturday, December 4, 2021

Barbados Abolishes its Monarchy, Firing Queen Elizabeth

Map countries with Queen Elizabeth II as head of state, which are known as the Commonwealth realms. Includes the UK, Canada, Australia, and a number of small countries in Oceania and the Caribbean. Also shows former Commonwealth realms, including large parts of Africa and South Asia. Colorblind accessible.
Updated map of the Commonwealth realms (independent countries that share the monarchy with Britain). Click to enlarge. Contact us for permission to use this map.
 

Map showing the location of Barbados in the eastern Caribbean. A string of islands extends east from Cuba then south to the northern edge of South America, with the island of Barbados located off to the east side of the string near the southern end.
Location of Barbados in the eastern Caribbean (circled, at far right). Public domain graphic (source).
Barbados Stops Being a Commonwealth Realm

As long-time readers of PolGeoNow know, Queen Elizabeth II isn't just the queen of England and the UK, but also reigns separately over quite a few other countries known as the "Commonwealth realms". 

Until Tuesday, there were 16 independent countries recognizing Elizabeth II as their queen. But now, after the legislature of Caribbean island country Barbados voted to remove the monarchy from its constitution - effective November 30, 2021 - that number has fallen to just 15.

Queen Elizabeth's 15 Countries: The Commonwealth Realms

Did you know Elizabeth II isn't just the Queen of England and the larger UK, but of 14 other independent countries? If that statement just raises more questions for you, read on for all the answers...

Map countries with Queen Elizabeth II as head of state, which are known as the Commonwealth realms. Includes the UK, Canada, Australia, and a number of small countries in Oceania and the Caribbean. Also shows former Commonwealth realms, including large parts of Africa and South Asia. Colorblind accessible.
Map of the Commonwealth realms (independent countries that share the monarchy with Britain). Click to enlarge. Contact us for permission to use this map.

 

This article, originally from 2012, has been revised and updated for the abolition of Barbados's monarchy in November 2021, which reduced the number of countries Queen Elizabeth II reigns over from 16 to 15.

Which countries does Queen Elizabeth reign over?

You might be surprised to learn that Queen Elizabeth II is the official queen of 15 different independent countries. Those countries are together known as the "Commonwealth realms" - a smaller subset of the Commonwealth of Nations, which also includes many queenless republics. Every one of the 15 Commonwealth realms is considered a fully-fledged independent country and a member of the UN, despite sharing the same monarch. 

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Gambia Rejoins the Commonwealth (Map)

Map of the Gambia in the Commonwealth of Nations (British Commonwealth) as of 2018, color coded for former and current member countries (colorblind accessible).
Map by Evan Centanni, modified from public domain graphic. Visit our Commonwealth of Nations page to check for newer versions, or contact us for permission to use this map.

Commonwealth Readmits Gambia as Member

Last month the Republic of the Gambia was accepted back into the Commonwealth of Nations, a club of countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. The tiny West African country left the organization in 2013 under pressure from other members to improve its democracy and human rights record.

What Are the Commonwealth Countries? Map of the Commonwealth of Nations

This map and explainer will be updated whenever there's a change in Commonwealth membership, including suspensions and reinstatements. You can find articles on each change by scrolling to the bottom of this page, or by viewing all Commonwealth articles on PolGeoNow.

The Commonwealth: Who belongs to it? Map of current and former member countries of the Commonwealth of Nations (British Commonwealth) as of March 2018 (colorblind accessible).
Map by Evan Centanni, modified from public domain graphic. Contact us for permission to use this map.
(Subscribers click here to view this article in the members area.)

What is the Commonwealth of Nations?

The Commonwealth of Nations - formerly the "British Commonwealth", but now usually just called "the Commonwealth" - is a loose association of countries that grew out of the British Empire as its colonies transitioned into independent countries during the 20th Century. It more or less took its modern form in 1949, but its history goes back at least to 1926, when the most Westernized colonies of the British Empire were transitioning towards independence. It's mostly a casual forum for cooperation between countries that used to be British colonies or dependencies (though some other countries have joined), and it has a charter promoting values like world peace, democracy, and human rights.

Thursday, June 23, 2016

Brexit: 9 Geography Facts You Should Know About the Referendum and Britain's EU Membership

(Subscribers click here to view this article in the members area.)

By Evan Centanni 

The European Union. Click for full map and list of members.
Today the UK is voting on whether to leave the European Union. If you've been paying attention to the news, you've probably heard about the intense debate over whether Brits should vote "Leave" or "Remain". But if you're like me and mainly in this for the geography trivia, here are some fun facts you might not know about the so-called "Brexit":

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

ICYMI: The Gambia's Withdrawal from the Commonwealth

"In case you missed it" - this is an article featuring news we couldn't cover when it first broke, but that we thought you might still want to know about. Those who read our article on the year 2013 in political geography changes already heard about the Gambia's withdrawal from the Commonwealth of Nations - now here's the full story.

Map of current and former member countries of the Commonwealth of Nations (British Commonwealth) as of 2014, marking the Gambia, which recently withdrew from the organization (colorblind accessible).
The Commonwealth of Nations. Current members in dark blue, former members in lavender. Map by Evan Centanni, modified from public domain blank map.
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