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| Prince Charles to succeed the Queen as head of the Commonwealth | Prince Charles to succeed the Queen as head of the Commonwealth |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Commonwealth leaders have approved Prince Charles to take over from the Queen as the next head of the organisation, sources say. | Commonwealth leaders have approved Prince Charles to take over from the Queen as the next head of the organisation, sources say. |
| The decision was made by the 53 leaders on a retreat at Windsor Castle, but will not be confirmed until a press conference later today. | The decision was made by the 53 leaders on a retreat at Windsor Castle, but will not be confirmed until a press conference later today. |
| The backing for the Prince of Wales appeared inevitable from the moment that the 91-year-old Queen made a personal request for her son to succeed her, on Thursday. | The backing for the Prince of Wales appeared inevitable from the moment that the 91-year-old Queen made a personal request for her son to succeed her, on Thursday. |
| However, some have opposed it, arguing the role is not hereditary and it would be better to rotate it between countries in the Commonwealth. | |
| On Thursday, Prince Charles himself made an informal pitch to take over the leadership, making clear his commitment to the organisation. | |
| “For my part, the Commonwealth has been a fundamental feature of my life for as long as I can remember,” he told the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (Chogm). | |
| And Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, had said he agreed “very much” with the Queen's wishes. | |
| The Queen had told the leaders: “It is my sincere wish that the Commonwealth will continue to offer stability and continuity for future generations - and will decide that one day the Prince of Wales will carry on the important work started by my father in 1949.” | |
| Meanwhile, Boris Johnson threw Britain’s weight behind a future attempt by Zimbabwe to rejoin the Commonwealth, following the end of Robert Mugabe's rule. | |
| The Foreign Secretary said that July's elections were a "bellweather" for the African nation following Mugabe's replacement by Emmerson Mnangagwa in November. | |
| After meeting Zimbabwe's foreign minister Sibusiso Moyo in London, Mr Johnson said Zimbabwe would need to undertake political and economic reform following decades of one-party rule. | |
| More follows… | More follows… |