Prince Charles appointed as the next head of the Commonwealth

Prince Charles will be the next head of the Commonwealth. After his mother’s successful bid for his appointment, the Prince of Wales will succeed Queen Elizabeth II for the role.

On Friday, world leaders from Commonwealth nations agreed that the 69-year-old British prince would be fitting for the role. He was considered a favourite to take on the position, even though there were arguments that it would be better for the title to be held by other nationalities as the Commonwealth was apparently too Britain-centric.

“Today, we have agreed that the next head of the Commonwealth shall be his royal highness Prince Charles,” British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Friday at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London. “It is fitting that one day he will continue the work of his mother,” she continued, praising Her Majesty’s work for the group.

The Commonwealth includes 53 member states that are mostly former territories of Britain. It has a combined population of 2.3 billion people, with the biggest population coming from India (1.3 billion) and the smallest from Nauru (10,000). Australia, New Zealand and Canada are among the members, with Zimbabwe, which withdrew its membership in 2003, is likely to be re-admitted, according to UK Foreign Minister Boris Johnson on Friday.

Charles being appointed as the next head of the Commonwealth was a fulfilment of Queen Elizabeth’s “sincere wish.” She explicitly asked for the leaders to consider her eldest son for the role.

The leaders also stated that they had discussed “specific commitments” for the future, including tackling climate change, promoting gender equality, preventing violent extremism and human trafficking, and halving malaria in the countries by 2023.

Meanwhile, the Queen, who turns 92 Saturday, also appointed Prince Harry, her grandson and Prince Charles’ second son, as the ambassador for Commonwealth Youth.