Antigua and Barbuda to vote on whether to remove British monarch as head of state, PM says

The former British colony gained independence from Britain in 1981, but is one of 14 countries to retain a British monarch as head of state. It is also part of the Commonwealth, her 54-member organization, mostly a former British colony.

“This is an issue that the people will have to put to a referendum to decide,” he said, adding, “It is not meant to represent any form of contempt for the monarch. This is not an act of hostility. The difference between Barbuda and a monarchy.”

He explained that it would be “the final step in completing the ring of independence to become a truly sovereign state.”