Queen Elizabeth II is not just the queen of the United Kingdom, but also the reigning Monarch over 15 other independent countries too. These 16 countries, known as the ‘Commonwealth realms,’ are mentioned below:
United Kingdom
Canada
Australia
New Zealand
Jamaica
Barbados
The Bahamas
Grenada
Papua New Guinea
Solomon Islands
Tuvalu
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Belize
Antigua and Barbuda
Saint Kitts and Nevis
The Queen is the constitutional monarch of these nations which were former British territories. Of these, Papua New Guinea was under the rule of Australia. In 1975, it became an independent Commonwealth nation with Queen Elizabeth as its head of state.
Also, as the Queen of the United Kingdom, which includes the British overseas territories, she is the monarch of Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man, which are the three Crown dependencies. As the Queen of New Zealand, she is the Monarch of Niue and Cook Islands, the two associated states.
Even though the countries under the Commonwealth realms have the same queen as their head of the state, they are full-fledged independent countries and members of the UN. The British parliament has no authority over their governments.
The Queen of the United Kingdom is also referred as the Queen of the respective nations such as the Queen of Australia, Queen of Canada, Queen of New Zealand etc. The Queen resides in London, the capital of the United Kingdom and in 15 of the 16 countries, she is represented by the Governor General. There is no Governor General in the United Kingdom, as the queen fulfills the functions of the head of the state in the UK.
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