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Leaders approve Prince Charles to succeed Queen as Commonwealth head

Leaders of the Commonwealth, yesterday, approved Prince Charles as the successor to Queen Elizabeth as head of the Commonwealth at a meeting of the group’s heads of government in Windsor, United Kingdom (UK).

Britain’s Prince Charles, Prince of Wales speaks at the formal opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) at Buckingham Palace in London on April 19, 2018. Queen Elizabeth II, the Head of the Commonwealth opened the Commonwealth summit for what may be the last time today. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / Dominic Lipinski

Leaders of the Commonwealth, yesterday, approved Prince Charles as the successor to Queen Elizabeth as head of the Commonwealth at a meeting of the group’s heads of government in Windsor, United Kingdom (UK).

There had been calls for the role to be rotated around the 53 member-states, most of which are former British territories, but in recent days, the queen, the British government and other leaders, had backed Charles to
take on the role.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the summit, which was originally to be hosted by Vanuatu at the end of last year, was moved to the UK, as Vanuatu was no longer able to host the event due to the damage done by Cyclone Pam to the island nation’s infrastructure. The meeting was postponed to this year due to other international commitments.

The position of Commonwealth Chair-in-Office, held by the government leader of the CHOGM host country, would be transferred at the summit from the Prime Minister of Malta to the Prime Minister of the UK, who would hold the post until the 26th CHOGM expected in 2020.

The summit, with theme, ‘Towards a Common Future,’ would be the first CHOGM held following the UK’s decision to withdraw from the European Union (EU), a decision that has resulted in calls for Britain to strengthen its economic ties with and play a greater role in the Commonwealth.

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