New Zealand ‘not likely’  to become a republic in wake of Harry and Meghan interview, says Jacinda Ardern

The Royal couple visited New Zealand in 2018

Credit: Kirsty Wigglesworth/Pool via REUTERS

New Zealand’s prime minister says the country is “not likely” to become a republic in the wake of Prince Harry and Meghan’s interview, as Commonwealth countries face calls for the removal of the Queen as Head of State.

Jacinda Ardern was asked whether the unflattering picture of the British royal family painted by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had given her pause about New Zealand’s constitutional ties to Britain.

"I’ve said before that I’ve not sensed an appetite from New Zealanders for significant change in our constitutional arrangements, and I don’t expect that’s likely to change quickly," she said.

New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy with The Queen as Sovereign.

But discontent is bubbling elsewhere — #AbolishTheMonarchy was trending on Twitter on Monday morning.

Queen Elizabeth receives flowers from schoolchildren after her arrival to South Bank in Brisbane, in 2011

Credit: REUTERS/Daniel Munoz 

In Australia, Victorian State MP Martin Pakula said: “You don’t have to believe everything Meghan and Harry claim to accept that Australia’s Head of State should not have to be a member of this one English family, forever and ever and ever.”

Australia is a constitutional monarchy with The Queen as Sovereign. As a constitutional monarch, The Queen, by convention, is not involved in the day-to-day business of the Australian Government, but she continues to play important ceremonial and symbolic roles.

News Americas, which runs a number of outlets across the Caribbean and Latin America published an editorial that said: “It is time these Caribbean nations emancipate themselves from the mental slavery and the last shackle of colonialism. 

“If the Meghan/Harry tea spilling has revealed anything, it is the obvious racism that exists at the top of the so-called Royalist ticket.”

The editorial pointed to the comments allegedly made by a member of the Royal family about Archie and “how dark his skin might be when he’s born.”

“In the Caribbean, the Queen is still recognized as the head of state of Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,” the piece continued.

“The majority of the population of these independent former British colonies are also black and brown, aka, “dark skinned.”

“Why they have chosen to be independent nations but still hold on to the colonial trappings of their former slave master is anyone’s guess. But the question now is, after last night’s interview, what are they going to do about removing that last colonial vestige – aka, the Queen as their head of state.”

In the United States, where the Duke and Duchess are forging a new life, Meghan McCain, a television personality and daughter of former Senator John, said: “Monarchy has been an archaic and toxic concept since 1776.”