Monarchy of Saint Vincent and The Grenadines - International and Domestic Aspects

International and Domestic Aspects

Further information: Commonwealth realm > Relationship of the realms

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines shares the same monarch with each of 15 monarchies in the 54-member Commonwealth of Nations, a grouping known informally as the Commonwealth realms. Upon its independence from the United Kingdom, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines entered into this arrangement that had earlier emerged following the passage of the Statute of Westminster in 1931, since when the pan-national Crown has had both a shared and separate character, and the sovereign's role as monarch of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has been distinct to his or her position as monarch of the United Kingdom. The monarchy thus ceased to be an exclusively British institution, though it is still often misnomered as "British" in both legal and common language, for reasons historical, political, and of convenience; this conflicts with not only the Royal Household's recognition and promotion of a distinctly Vincentian Crown, but also the sovereign's distinct Vincentian title, Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, Queen of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.

Effective with the Constitution of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, no British or other realm government can advise the sovereign on any matters pertinent to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, meaning that on all matters of the Vincentian state, the monarch is advised solely by Vincentian Ministers of the Crown. As the monarch lives predominantly outside of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, one of the most important of these state duties carried out on the advice of the Vincentian Prime Minister is the appointment of the viceroy, who is titled as Governor-General, and performs most of the Queen's domestic duties in her absence.