Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (C), last visit to the Caribbean was in 2009. Here she is all smiles at girls in carnival dresses during a visit around Port of Spain, during the Commonwealth Heads of Government's meeting on November 28, 2009. (Photo credit should read STR/AFP via Getty Images)
The Queen Is Dead – A Look Back At Queen Elizabeth’s Caribbean Visits
NEWS AMERICAS, NEW YORK, NY, Sept. 8, 2022: Caribbean people around the world are among those expressing sadness at the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away today, September 8, 2022 at the age of 96.
The Queen was head of state of several Caribbean countries at the time of her passing including: the British dependent territories of the BVI, Turks & Caicos, Cayman Islands, Anguilla and Bermuda as well as Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Barbados removed the Queen as head of state last year even as Jamaica says it will be doing so as well.
The Queen, born in Mayfair, London, as the first child of the Duke and Duchess of York. Her father acceded to the throne in 1936 upon the abdication of his brother, King Edward VIII, making Elizabeth the heir presumptive. She became Queen in 1952 and her coronation took place on June 2, 1953- 14 months after she ascended to the throne. She lived and reigned the longest of any monarchs, after assuming the throne at 25 years of age when Britain still held many Caribbean countries as colonies and part of the British empire.
CARIBBEAN LEADERS
Premier David Burt of Bermuda was the first leader of the Caribbean colonies to send his condolences to Queen Elizabeth II.
“A life of undimmed duty, a model of strength and devotion to country…On behalf of the Government and people of Bermuda, I express sincere condolences to the Royal Family and the people of the United Kingdom.” Burt said.
President Dr Mohammed Irfaan Ali sent his condolences to the Royal Family and people of UK saying Guyanese people will always remember Her Majesty’s visits to the country.
“I join all Guyanese in expressing our profound and deepest sorrow at the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. Her passing marks the end of an era in the history of the British Monarchy, the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations,” he said. “Queen Elizabeth’s place in history is assured and her legacy is intact. Her long and impactful reign has helped to shape the post-World War II world. Her Majesty has been a source of stability for her country. She will be long remembered for her sterling leadership of the Commonwealth of Nations.”
Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said the people of Dominica are saddened at the news of Her Majesty’s death.
“Our prayers are with the Royal Family during this period of grief. Her passing ends an iconic 70-year reign and is a profound loss for the Commonwealth of Nations and the world. May she rest in peace,” he said.
Here is our look back on her visits to the Caribbean, beginning in 1966.
Prime Minister of Guyana, Forbes Burnham (1925 – 1985) and his wife Viola (left) with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip (right) in Georgetown, British Guyana, during a royal tour of the Caribbean, 7th February 1966. (Photo by Harry Benson/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)16th February 1966: Queen Elizabeth II inspecting a guard of honor in Trinidad during a royal tour of the Caribbean. (Photo by Harry Benson/Express/Getty Images)Queen Elizabeth II riding in a carriage at a children’s rally in, Nassau, Bahamas, during the royal visit to the Crown Colonies of the Caribbean, 28th February 1966. (Photo by Bride Lane Library/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)Queen Elizabeth II inspecting a line of Jamaica Defence Force soldiers at Palisadoes Airport in Kingston during a Commonwealth visit to Jamaica in April 1975. Queen Elizabeth II was in Jamaica for the 3rd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. (Photo by Rolls Press/Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)Queen Elizabeth II giving a welcoming speech during her visit on the Bahamas in January 1975. (Photo by Horst Ossinger/picture alliance via Getty Images)Princess Margaret shows her sister, Queen Elizabeth ll around the island during the Queen and Prince Philip’s visit to Mustique in 1977. (Photo Anwar Hussein/Getty Images). Queen Elizabeth ll picked up a mango as she tours a market in the British Virgin Islands in October of 1977. (Photo by Anwar Hussein/Getty Images) Queen Elizabeth II walking with an umbrella to shield herself from the sun during a state visit to the British Virgin Islands in 1977. (Photo by Anwar Hussein/Getty Images)Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II sits on a chair on the dais in front of the Jamaican Parliament in the Gordon House during her visit to Jamaica in 1983.Queen Elizabeth meets the late Mrs. Elaine Chaplin, wife of the late Mr. Kenneth Chaplin, who was made a Lieutenant of the Victorian Order by the Queen in Jamaica in 1983. (Contributed image: Hon. Consul of Jamaica to PA, Chris Chaplin) Local school children wave to the Queen of England as she walked by them at a local stadium hours after her arrival on February 18, 1994. The Queen, was on a two-day visit to Anguilla. (Photo credit: ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)Queen Elizabeth II, escorted by Bermuda Governor Lord Waddington (L), greeted well wishers at the airport in St. Georges, Bermuda, 08 March 1994 after she arrived for a three-day visit. Bermuda was the last stop of a 21-day trip to Latin America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda for The Queen and Prince Philip. (Photo credit: LUKE FRAZZA/AFP via Getty Images) Queen Elizabeth visits Sam Sharpe Square February 20, 2002 while on a visit to Montego Bay, Jamaica. (Photo by Julian Parker/UK Press/Getty Images)Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II (C), last visit to the Caribbean was in 2009. Here she is all smiles at girls in carnival dresses during a visit around Port of Spain, during the Commonwealth Heads of Government’s meeting on November 28, 2009. (Photo credit should read STR/AFP via Getty Images)
