Introducing the Commonwealth Realms

What are they and why are they important?

In a world that seems to shun the idea of a King ruling over his nation like a father over his children, the Commonwealth Realms stand tall as a collection of countries that defy the march of republican sentiments and the winds of modernity that tend to blow against the leadership of the hereditary principle and in favour of the elective model for the head of state. Often overlooked, a unified Commonwealth Realms could and would be a force for good on the world stage, an alliance that could form a powerful military, cultural and economic pillar of global geopolitics and would be robust in the face of many of the problems they collectively face in the future.

What binds the Commonwealth Realms together is the central institution common to all of them, the British monarchy. The head of the Windsor family, Charles, is King and head of state of all fifteen of these countries. While constitutionally he is the head of state, all Commonwealth Realms maintain complete sovereignty with the King, operating mainly a symbolic and ceremonial role except the UK where the monarch has broader significance within the British constitution although little power to act within it.

This personal union revolving around the British Monarchy finds its origin in the British Empire. In 1926 at the Imperial Conference in London, it was declared that the British Dominions and the UK would be

 ‘autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by a common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations’ – Imperial Conference 1926 Report, clause II

This declaration set the stage for the Commonwealth Realms, with three of the five states that had Dominion status by 1926 retaining the monarchy to this day and forming the senior nations of the Commonwealth Realms, alongside the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. This moment in history set the foundations for the modern Commonwealth Realms that we have inherited today.

This historical development has placed the British monarchy at the heart of the Commonwealth Realms. It is the unifying factor between these fifteen nations. It is what creates the distinction between a Commonwealth Nation and a Commonwealth Realm. The fifteen are its own clique within the overall Commonwealth structure. To an outsider it seems that there is an anachronistic holdover from the imperialist period in history, however, whilst all our parliaments are 'His Majesties' they also maintain complete independence from Britain. It is the elected officials in the Realms that have the policy-making power and the other nations are in no way tied to British foreign or domestic policy. Thanks to our late Queen we have been able to create an entirely new structure in the course of history where fifteen wholly separate nations who are completely independent from each other with their own set of foreign policies, economic and security laws are unified under one crown.

A key feature of the Commonwealth Realm’s organisation and an integral aspect as to why the Realms have remained for so long, and continue to do so, is that the constitutional arrangements in all of the fifteen realms are different. The ability for total sovereignty in governance and for a constitutional framework that can be suited to the people who live within these countries is a unique system that works incredibly well for a personal union of countries under one crown. There is a common feature of all the Realms except the UK for obvious reasons, that the crown is represented by a Governor-General who acts on His Majesty's behalf in executing the constitutional role of whichever country is in question, with the King acting for himself in the UK. Each country has its specific constitutional setup and the King plays a mostly ceremonial and symbolic role, again except in the UK where the monarch has wide constitutional powers but has little room to act (unhappily for some who wish to see the monarch have more scope for action). In essence, holding these great powers of the state in place of an elected official who may not be so constrained and use them for nefarious means. Likewise acting in a ceremonial role in the other fourteen Realms as a beacon of stability and continuity, helping to alleviate and temper more radical demagogues who may seek to become head of state with wide constitutional powers at the detriment of the people.

This unique structure of like-minded nations joined together as a family, unified by our Crown has a large role to play in the modern world. It can and will continue to provide a force for good governance, rule of law, respect for the democratic process and leading the way in showing high levels of international standards in cooperation in regards to a multitude of issues facing the world today. The Commonwealth Realms includes a major regional power across three continents, the possibility for high-level security and defence cooperation is unprecedented, particularly with the senior nations of the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia leading the way in protecting and uplifting the smaller nations. This would go a long way in helping to develop their capacities for national defence and security against the rising threats of an ever-likely multipolar world with imperial powers such as China and Russia throwing their weight around smaller nations in a bid to collect their own sets of subservient vassal states. This is in direct contrast to the Imperial Declaration which was a declaration of the equality and equal standing of the Commonwealth Realm nations.

There is massive potential for trade opportunities to generate income and wealth for businesses and people across the Crown nations. Equally, a mutual study programme that does not simply lead to a brain drain but allows young people across our familial collective to gain much-needed skills and networks and return to bring more investment back and build business in their home countries. This will build personal wealth, national wealth and create cross-crown nation networks of like-minded people in the area of business and finance, and create investment opportunities for smaller nations and larger nations alike.

There is much more to do in terms of cultural ties, this is something that can be expanded on by more Prime Minister state meetings and summits, perhaps a yearly Commonwealth Realm PM's summit. Royal tours need to be expanded and more senior royalty need to visit their citizens much more. Involving themselves in the local cultures and national issues, helping to resolve some of the long-standing issues in terms of indigenous people such as the Aboriginals in Australia could be a particular focus for the royals senior and less senior alike to help incorporate their cultures into the wider society, along the lines of the Māori in New Zealand where many Māori customs have been adopted into mainstream New Zealand national culture, although more work needs to be done. Royals could attend international sporting events to support the teams of the Crown countries such as supporting Jamaican athletes in Athletics, New Zealand in a rugby world cup final. Days like Commonwealth Day could be celebrated and more state celebrations could be put on to celebrate all of our unique cultures, languages and ways of life but also with a degree of focus on the element that binds our family together, the Crown. There are many ways to strengthen and deepen our political, defensive, economic and cultural ties in the 21^st century, The Commonwealth Realms remain very relevant today. However a warning must be noted, this is an active and living institution, and it very much needs to be actively pursued to strengthen and ensure its continuation.

In short, the Commonwealth Realms as a personal union have maintained a strong sense of tradition. In terms of our shared monarchy but also as our unique and distinct cultures within a diverse world. The fifteen countries that are uniquely bound together have a special status amongst all other nations even our partners in the wider Commonwealth of Nations. We share an institution that no one else does and this makes us family rather than client states, it creates a sense of intimacy and a natural bond between our countries that is not replicable through any form of political will. Much like the 'special relationship' between the USA and the UK could never have the same sense of familial bond. The countries included have retained their complete sovereignty but their position on the world stage is enhanced by our mutual relationship to one another. The Commonwealth Realms is a truly magnificent achievement with massive potential, our future is bright.

God Save the King

Henry T.