No role in the Commonwealth for Prince of Wales says joint report

Published on 13/07/2012 00:38

The post of Head of the Commonwealth should not pass to the Prince of Wales but be abolished for the good of the institution.

Prince Charles would not only be an unsuitable symbol of Commonwealth unity but a positively harmful one, reinforcing the belief the family of nations is merely a throwback to the British Empire, according to Professor Philip Murphy and Daisy Cooper, a think tank director.

Prof Murphy, director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, and Ms Cooper, from the Commonwealth Advisory Bureau (CAB), suggest in a publication the Queen should be the last head of the institution.

In the joint opinion piece, published by the CAB, the pair ask: “Is the British monarch an appropriate symbol of Commonwealth unity in the 21st century? Put in those terms, even the most fervent supporter of the monarchy would be hard pressed to agree.

“Apart from anything else, an unelected head of state is hardly an obvious figurehead for an association that espouses the virtues of democracy.

“Indeed, it is arguable that Charles would be a positively harmful one [symbol].”