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The Prime Minister of Jamaica will skip the coronation of Charles III as the island country moves forward with becoming an independent republic.
Prime Minister Andrew Holness will not be attending the coronation ceremony of Charles III Saturday at Westminster Abbey in London as Jamaica’s government moves forward with plans to sever ties with the British Monarchy and become a republic.
Information minister Robert Morgan confirmed to The Gleaner that Holness will not be attending and in his place will be Governor General Sir Patrick Allen.
The Jamaican Constitutional Reform Committee has made steps to move Jamaica from a constitutional monarchy to an independent republic. Two weeks ago the committee came to a consensus to recommend the abolition of the constitutional monarchy as the form of government and has deliberated on the process by which a president would be selected according to The Gleaner.
“We have to have a referendum,” said Minister for Legal and Constitutional Affairs Marlene Malahoo Forte. “The monarch is deeply entrenched in our constitution, but the people of Jamaica are saying ‘the time has come’,” she added.
Jamaica was a British colony for hundreds of years, from the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1494 until it gained independence on August 6, 1962. During this time, the British Monarchy exerted varying degrees of control over the island, with Jamaica being ruled directly by the Crown from 1655 until 1959. After that, Jamaica became a self-governing territory with its own government, but it was still considered a part of the British Empire until it achieved full independence.
The Crown has not commented publicly on Jamaica’s recent moves, so it remains to be seen how amicable the split will be.