Antigua and Barbuda drops oath of allegiance to King Charles weeks before his planned royal visit to the island

Antigua and Barbuda has quietly removed the oath of allegiance to King Charles from the pledges required of newly elected officials, substituting loyalty to the Crown with a commitment to the Caribbean nation, its laws and its constitution. Parliament passed the change in May after Prime Minister Gaston Browne won re-election; a long-standing republican, he describes the move as a "natural progression" for a country that has been independent since 1981. The moment is acutely awkward: Buckingham Palace had announced only days earlier that the King would visit the islands this autumn for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

Attorney General Sir Steadroy Benjamin called the reform "long overdue," pledging that officials would no longer be required to swear loyalty to "His Majesty in England, his heirs and successors in England."

The country is said to be moving toward establishing a domestic head of state, though no referendum on the question has yet been held.

A government official told reporters: "You cannot be independent if you have a head of state so far away in a foreign land — he lives in a palace in London."