Barbados bids farewell to British monarchy, becomes republic

By DÁNICA COTO
Associated Press

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Barbados has stopped pledging allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II as it shed another vestige of its colonial past and became a republic for the first time in history. Several leaders, dignitaries and artists, including Prince Charles and Rihanna, attended a ceremony that stretched into Tuesday in a popular square where the statue of Britain’s Lord Nelson was removed last year amid a worldwide push to erase symbols of oppression. The drive to become a republic began more than two decades ago and culminated with the island’s Parliament electing its first ever president last month in a two-thirds majority vote.