If Prime Minister Owen Arthur has his way, by the end of the year Barbados will remove itself from an erstwhile exclusive list of countries and territories.
Mr. Arthur, 55, wants to ditch the Queen as head of state and turn Barbados -- one of 16 realms, including Canada, where the Queen is the sovereign -- into a republic.
The idea has been part of Mr. Arthur's Barbados Labour Party manifesto since at least 1999. But when he announced recently that he planned to make good on his intentions this year, it reignited a simmering debate in what was once known as Little England of the Caribbean.
Adding a little royal fuel to the discussion, Mr. Arthur cited the possibility, however remote, of one day having to swear allegiance to "King Harry," the prince who caused an uproar earlier this month by wearing a Nazi armband to a costume party.
"Heaven forbid, but if Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth were to die, if Prince Charles and Prince William were to die, I would have a fundamental difficulty swearing allegiance to King Harry," he said.
Mr. Arthur, elected in 2003 to his third term as Prime Minister with an overwhelming majority, said he will be putting forward legislation next month to amend the constitution to reflect that Barbados, first settled by the British in 1627, is "secure in its own identity."
"We will be moving this country to a higher and mature plane of political development," he said.
Mr. Arthur said he wants a president with only ceremonial powers, but did not make clear whether Barbados would remain a member of the Commonwealth, which is made up mostly of countries that no longer recognize the Queen as head of state. The Barbados Prime Minister's Office said Mr. Arthur was too busy to be interviewed.
The proclamation caused barely a ripple on Fleet Street in London. The Daily Mail quoted a Foreign Office spokesman as saying that it was a matter for Barbadians to decide.
Some Barbadian news reports have suggested that resentment of the Royal Family has been growing over the years, with lingering bitterness that the Queen has not visited the island of 278,000 since 1989.
But opposition leader Clyde Mascoll questioned the haste in adopting a republican constitution and reminded Mr. Arthur that he had previously promised a referendum on the idea.
Over the weekend, Mr. Arthur said the most recent parliamentary election, in which his party won 23 of 30 seats, was a sufficient referendum.
"So for us to go back to the people, when we have already gone to the people on it and asked for a mandate to govern with this as part of it, is now really bringing a false issue to the table," he said.
Daily Nation columnist Ezra Alleyne, an advocate of republican status, said in an interview that constitutional issues provoke discussion among Barbadians of all walks of life.
"So people are talking about it. I'm not sure it's going to make any difference in the everyday functioning of people's lives, but there's a great deal of symbolism in it. We want to make sure one of our own can become head of state," he said.
Mr. Alleyne said he believes that even opposition politicians are not against such a move.
Commonweath Realms
The Commonwealth Realms are 16 sovereign states that recognize the Queen as head of state. The realms should be distinguished from the Commonwealth of Nations, which is an organization of mostly former British colonies, the majority of which do not recognize the Queen as head of state. Population figures (in parentheses) are estimates for 2004.
Papua New Guinea (5,420,280)
Solomon Is. (523,617)
Tuvalu (11,468
Australia (19,913,144)
New Zealand (3,993,817)
Canada (32,507,874)
Jamaica (2,713,130)
Belize (272,945)
The Bahamas (299,697)
St. Lucia (164,213)
St. Vincent and
The Grenadines (117,193)
Grenada (89,357)
UnitedKingdom (60,270,708)
St. Kitts and Nevis (38,836)
Antigua and Barbuda (68,320)
Barbados (278,289)
SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_Realm, CIA