Commonwealth leaders endorse Prince Charles as successor to Queen Elizabeth

Agency Report

Commonwealth leaders, on Friday, endorsed Prince Charles of Wales to succeed The Queen as head of the 53 member body.

The Queen had, on Thursday, pleaded with the leaders to consider Prince Charles for the position when she said it was her “sincere wish” that Prince Charles would follow her in the role.

“We recognise the role of The Queen in championing the Commonwealth and its peoples. The next Head of the Commonwealth shall be His Royal Highness Prince Charles,” the leaders said in a statement, at the end of the meeting in London, on Friday.

The Commonwealth leaders took the decision behind closed doors at Windsor Castle.

Speaking at the end of the 2018 meeting, British Prime Minister, Mrs. Theresa May, commended the Queen for her “vision and duty” in growing the Commonwealth from eight members to 53.

She said it was “fitting” Prince Charles would succeed her due to his “proud support” of the Commonwealth “for more than four decades”.

The leaders also agreed a “blue charter” to protect the ocean from pollution and climate change and a “cyber declaration” to combat online crime and threats.

The meeting during a two-day summit involved 46 heads of Commonwealth governments and foreign ministers from the remaining seven countries.

The Commonwealth represents about 2.4 billion people, but critics say the organisation is so disparate that it struggles to know what it stands for..

It was said the news of the prince’s appointment would be “of great satisfaction” to the Queen.