Even though 63 percent of the island population, according to a poll conducted by the Lord Ashcroft Company, prefers the monarchy over republic, the islands prime minister, Ralph Gonsalves, said he cannot accept King Charles III as King of St. Vincent.
In an interview with Channel 4 News in the UK, Gonsalves told the outlet that MPs swear allegiance to the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, not the British Monarchy.
“I don’t accept, and I cannot accept, that someone who was born in the United Kingdom, grows up in the United Kingdom, lives in the United Kingdom, and can be the king of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, even though there is a local Governor-General”.
“At the same time, we recognize the complexities of our history and that we would very much remain in the Commonwealth if, in fact, such a severance were to take place”, Gonsalves said.
While in the UK, Gonsalves told BBC Radio 4 that having a British monarch as head of state is a “absurdity” that he hopes to abolish in his lifetime.
“The current constitutional arrangement offends people psychologically,” he said, adding that his country desired a president “selected by our own constitutional processes.”
The island’s prime minister stated that he would appreciate an apology from the British state and monarchy for past wrongs related to slavery.
He stated that he believes King Charles III is open to discussing reparations and that the current UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, was wrong in refusing to apologize for the UK’s historic role in the slave trade, adding that going to the International Criminal Court was also an option.
“We can continue the political work; we can do diplomatic work; but we can also go to the International Court of Justice, for example,” he explained.
“However, I’d rather have the conversation than have to do that.”
