...but Queen Elizabeth was the head of 14 Commonwealth countries or territories from the United Kingdom and Canada and Jamaica to Australia and New Zealand until her death.

Queen Elizabeth II has the longest reign. During her time as Queen, her monarchical footprint decreased dramatically, but she was the head of 14 Commonwealth countries or territories from the United Kingdom and Canada and Jamaica to Australia and New Zealand until her death.

At the time of her coronation in 1953, Elizabeth II was crowned Queen of the Seven Independent Countries. These included the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka). During this, decolonization intensified and British colonies and dependencies became the new Commonwealth realms.

Formal role as queen

Some of these decided to keep her as head of state, but many countries did not accept this. In the countries in which she remained queen, her role was largely ceremonial, and her duties were performed by one of their governor generals – the governor-general, a viceroy who effectively acts as the head of state. She was the queen of each newly independent country in her own right, not just because she was the Queen of Britain.

At the time of her death, she was Head of State of Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and the UK. Was. These countries are distinct from the wider 54-state Commonwealth of Nations, which has historical ties with the United Kingdom, but most of them do not necessarily elect a queen as head of state.

Heads of 32 countries

Throughout her reign, she was the head of state of 32 countries. Among them, 17 countries refused to accept him as the head of state at different times.

In these, Barbados- 1966-2021; Ceylon- (Sri Lanka) 1952-1972; Fiji- 1970-1987; The Gambia- 1965-1970; Ghana- 1957-1960; Guyana- 1966-1970; Kenya- 1963-1964; Malawi- 1964-1966; Malta- 1964-1974; Mauritius- 1968-1992; Nigeria- 1960-1963; Pakistan- 1952-1956; Sierra Leone- 1961-1971; South Africa- 1952-1961; Tanganyika- 1961-1962; Trinidad and Tobago- 1962-1976; Uganda - 1962-1963 - included.

Queen of 18 countries together

At the height of her reign, she was the queen of 18 countries at the same time between 1983 and 1987. Since then, Fiji (1987), Mauritius (1992), and Barbados (2021) have become republics. When Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) unilaterally declared its independence from Britain in 1965. After this in 1970 Zimbabwe decided to declare itself a republic but still expressed its allegiance to the queen.

Britain has 14 overseas territories

Being Queen of New Zealand also meant that she was the head of state of the Cook Islands and Niue, which are the states that are part of the wider realm of New Zealand. Britain has 14 overseas territories, including Bermuda, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, and the British Antarctic Territory, which was also ruled by the British.

During her time on the throne, there were eight referendums on becoming a republic. These included South Africa, Ghana, and The Gambia. At the same time, Barbados declared itself a republic without a referendum, while the referendums conducted by some countries, including Australia, did not pass, thus the Queen remained the President of those countries.