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There are fourteen countries ruled by the British monarch. Eight realms have proclaimed the new king. The stance of Tuvalu is unclear but some source says it is supportive.

However, this leaves five realms that have not proclaimed Charles III as king yet: Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia.

Does this mean that they do not recognize the new king?

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    I don't know about the other four, but Antigua & Barbuda have announced plans to hold a referendum on becoming a republic.
    – F1Krazy
    Sep 13, 2022 at 11:13
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    @o.m. A google search with "Antigua and Barbuda proclaim charles III BBC" returns no relevant results. Could you please post a link to the BBC source?
    – dodo
    Sep 13, 2022 at 14:40
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    What is the source for alleged non-recognition. Could it be that tiny countries don't have aggressive P.R. agents with big megaphones to get out the work promptly?
    – ohwilleke ♦
    Sep 13, 2022 at 15:38
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    It should perhaps be noted that it would be entirely possible to proclaim Charles king and then later become a republic. That is, Antigua and Barbuda's proclaiming him king and planning to hold a referendum on becoming a republic are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
    – phoog
    Sep 13, 2022 at 16:58
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    @dodo, the same one F1Krazy linked. They confirmed him, and they are thinking about maybe ceasing to be a monarchy.
    – o.m.
    Sep 13, 2022 at 18:09

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According to an article in The Guardian dated 8th September, the issue is that not all constitutions define their head of state the same way. In some cases, the hereditary monarchy is written into the constitution in such a way that King Charles III became head of state as soon as Queen Elizabeth II died, as he did in England and Scotland, but others have a less clear definition:

In many cases their constitutions state that the Queen, specifically, is the head of state. In these countries, constitutions will need to be amended to refer to her successor.

In many cases, the power of the monarch is to appoint a Governor General, who then acts as "the representative of the Crown". In such countries, the constitution may need to be amended to recognise Charles III as having power to appoint (or confirm the current appointment of) such a figure.

That leads to two things:

  • Firstly, a delay as the necessary laws are drafted, and either parliament or entire electorates approve them.
  • Secondly, movements within those countries to become republics have a chance to draw attention to their views, and argue for a referendum on that instead.
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    "In such countries, the constitution may need to be amended to recognise Charles III as having power to appoint": what specific countries are those ones?
    – dodo
    Sep 15, 2022 at 21:40

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