29 Facts About The Commonwealth

The Commonwealth is king of 15 member states, known as the Commonwealth realms, while 36 other members are republics, and five others have different monarchs.

The Commonwealth Charter defines their shared values of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, as promoted by the quadrennial Commonwealth Games.

Former British protectorates and mandates that did not become members of the Commonwealth are Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan, Palestine, Sudan, British Somaliland, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates .

Postwar Commonwealth was given a fresh mission by Queen Elizabeth II in her Christmas Day 1953 broadcast, in which she envisioned the Commonwealth as "an entirely new conception – built on the highest qualities of the Spirit of Man: friendship, loyalty, and the desire for freedom and peace".

Under the London Declaration, India agreed that, when it became a republic in January 1950, it would remain in the Commonwealth and accept the British Sovereign as a "symbol of the free association of its independent member nations and as such the Head of the Commonwealth".

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Term 'New The Commonwealth' gained usage in the UK to refer to recently decolonised countries, predominantly non-white and developing.

However, at their meeting in April 2018, The Commonwealth leaders agreed that Prince Charles should succeed his mother Elizabeth II as head after her death.

Closer association amongst Commonwealth countries is reflected in the diplomatic protocols of the Commonwealth countries.

The first member to be admitted without having any constitutional link to the British Empire or a The Commonwealth member was Mozambique in 1995 following its first democratic elections and South Africa's re-admission in 1994.

In 2009, Rwanda became the second The Commonwealth member admitted not to have any such constitutional links.

The Commonwealth membership was held to have lapsed until 1997, after discriminatory provisions in the republican constitution were repealed and reapplication for membership made.

The secretary-general of the Commonwealth, Kamalesh Sharma, confirmed that full suspension meant that Fiji would be excluded from Commonwealth meetings, sporting events and the technical assistance programme .

Now, the majority of the Commonwealth members, including all those from Africa, are republics or have their own native monarch.

In recent years, the Commonwealth has been accused of not being vocal enough on its core values.

The Commonwealth is not a private club of the governments or the secretariat.

Result of the effort was that a new Charter of the Commonwealth was signed by Queen Elizabeth on 11 March 2013 at Marlborough House, which opposes "all forms of discrimination, whether rooted in gender, race, colour, creed, political belief or other grounds".

The Association of Commonwealth Universities is an important vehicle for academic links, particularly through scholarships, principally the Commonwealth Scholarship, for students to study in universities in other Commonwealth countries.

Many The Commonwealth nations possess traditions and customs that are elements of a shared The Commonwealth culture.

Canada does maintain small enthusiastic communities in all the more traditional Commonwealth sports, having reached the World Cup in each of them, and is the homeplace of the Commonwealth Games, hosting the inaugural edition in Hamilton in 1930.

The Games include standard multi-sports disciplines like athletics, swimming, gymnastics, and cycling, but includes sports popular in the Commonwealth that are distinct to the Games such as netball, squash and lawn bowls.

In 1987, the Commonwealth Foundation established the annual Commonwealth Writers' Prize "to encourage and reward the upsurge of new Commonwealth fiction and ensure that works of merit reach a wider audience outside their country of origin".

From 1950 on, a significant number of writers from the countries of the Commonwealth began gaining international recognition, including some who migrated to the United Kingdom.

Many other The Commonwealth writers have achieved an international reputation for works in English, including Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe, and playwright Wole Soyinka.

The Commonwealth requires its members to be functioning democracies that respect human rights and the rule of law.

The Commonwealth has adopted a number of symbols that represent the association of its members.

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The English language is recognised as a symbol of the members' heritage; as well as being considered a symbol of the Commonwealth, recognition of it as "the means of Commonwealth communication" is a prerequisite for Commonwealth membership.

In 2009, to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Commonwealth, the Royal Commonwealth Society commissioned a poll of public opinion in seven of the member states: Australia, Canada, India, Jamaica, Malaysia, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Support for the Commonwealth was twice as high in developing countries as in developed countries; it was lowest in the United Kingdom.

The Commonwealth has published the Anthem, performed by the Commonwealth Youth Orchestra, with and without an introductory narrative.