The Telegraph, September 19, Alexander Downer
The personality and the presence of Queen Elizabeth helped the Commonwealth survive as an institution as many of its member states cast off British colonial rule and emerged as independent nations. Their leaders were a diverse group: some were hard-core Marxists, others mild socialists and very few traditional mainstream conservatives. Yet for all of that, their countries remained in the Commonwealth and through the late Queen’s reign the Commonwealth evolved as a bastion of liberal democracy.
In 1952, when she came to the throne, the Commonwealth was little more than the dying embers of the British Empire. By the time she died 70 years later it had its own charter which defines its values – committed to liberal democratic norms, the rules based system and international standards of human rights.
No wonder, then, that the heads of government and heads of state of Commonwealth countries have almost all attended the late Queen’s funeral. The fact that they would fly halfway around the world attests to the convening power and influence of the British royal family within the Commonwealth. The challenge now will be to ensure it continues to grow under King Charles. With imagination, creativity and leadership, in particular from the UK and India, its most populous country, it can become an even more relevant and useful institution than it already is.
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