Nearly 400 years after the first English ships arrived in Barbados, the sun has set on the British monarchy’s long reign over the Caribbean island, Guardian reports.
According to the report, as the clock struck midnight on Tuesday, the Royal Standard flag representing the Queen was lowered over a crowded Heroes Square in Bridgetown - marking the birth of the world’s newest republic.
Guests applauded as Dame Sandra Mason was
sworn in as the country's first ever president. “Republic Barbados has set sail
on her maiden voyage,” Mason said in her inauguration speech, recognising the
“complex, fractured and turbulent world” it would need to navigate, the report
submits further, adding that in the decision to cut ties with the monarchy in
2020, announced by the prime minister Mia Mottley, who led the ceremony last
night, said the time had come for Barbados to “fully leave our colonial past
behind”. During the ceremony she also declared musician Rihanna a national
hero.
USA Today, in its capture of the memorable event reports that several leaders and dignitaries, including Prince Charles, attended the ceremony in a popular square where the statue of a well-known British lord was removed last year amid a worldwide push to erase symbols of oppression. Fireworks peppered the sky at midnight as Barbados officially became a republic, with screens set up across the island so people could watch the event. It was also broadcast online, prompting a flurry of excited messages from Bajans living in the U.S., Canada and beyond.
During the event, which coincided with
the country's 55th anniversary of independence, BBC News reports, Prince
Charles acknowledged the "appalling atrocity of slavery" the
Caribbean island suffered.
At the event, Rihanna was declared a
national hero, receiving a line of prayer by the new Prime Minister "May
you continue to shine like a diamond and bring honour to your nation."
credit: Instagram | usatoday | bbcnews | guardian
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