Queen Elizabeth II should be the final Head of the Commonwealth

Lurking not far beneath the surface of the current celebrations of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee is a nagging anxiety: what happens next? Nowhere is this more acute than in Commonwealth circles. The future of the headship of the Commonwealth, a role the Queen has played with such dedication, is in doubt. Should it pass to her heir, Prince Charles? Dig a little deeper and you soon encounter off-the-record expressions of doubt about Charles’s suitability. Amid the rather awkward and embarrassed murmurings that pass for debate on this issue, the cases for and against Charles inheriting the headship have barely been explored or discussed. Set out systematically, both sets of arguments are powerful and both deserve to be taken seriously. Ultimately, however, we conclude that the interests of the Commonwealth would be best served if the post of Head of the Commonwealth ceased to exist at the end of Her Majesty’s reign.