Queen of Ghana

Elizabeth II was the Queen of Ghana from 1957 to 1960. During this time, Ghana was its own independent country and a constitutional monarchy. As queen, Elizabeth II was also the leader of the United Kingdom and many other countries. In Ghana, her duties were carried out by the governor-general of Ghana, who acted in her place. This was a special time for Ghana, as it had just gained its independence, and having a queen helped the country as it began to shape its new government.

History

Ghana was the first country in Western Africa to become independent from European rule. This happened in 1957, when the area known as the British Crown Colony of the Gold Coast turned into the independent country of Ghana. At that time, Queen Elizabeth II was the head of state. Because she could not be there in person, her aunt, Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent, stood in for her. On March 6, 1957, Princess Marina opened Ghana’s first parliament and shared a special message from the Queen to the people of Ghana. The Queen’s message welcomed Ghana to the group of independent nations and wished the country success and friendship with other nations.

Constitutional role

Ghana was one of the countries in the Commonwealth of Nations that shared the same person as Sovereign and head of state.

Starting in 1957, the Queen was represented in Ghana by the Governor-General of Ghana, who was chosen by the Queen based on advice from the Ghanaian government. The Governor-General helped make important decisions for the country.

The Queen and the National Assembly of Ghana made up the Parliament of Ghana. All important powers in Ghana belonged to the sovereign. Laws in Ghana could only be made with approval, called royal assent, given by the Governor-General for the Queen. The Governor-General also had the job of calling meetings of Parliament, ending meetings, and ending Parliament completely. All ministers in Ghana served as long as the Governor-General was happy with them.

The monarch gave out special awards and honors in Ghana. Most of these were decided by "Her Majesty's Ghana Ministers".

Title

The Royal Style and Titles Act, 1957 of the Parliament of Ghana gave the monarch a special title for her role as Queen of Ghana.

Queen Elizabeth II had different titles during her time as the monarch of Ghana:

6 March 1957 – 27 July 1957: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith
27 July 1957 – 1 July 1960: Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Ghana and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth

Oath of allegiance

In Ghana, people took a special promise called the oath of allegiance. They would say, "I, (name), swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Ghana, Her Heirs and Successors according to law. So help me God". This promise showed their loyalty to the queen and the country.

Abolition

After a vote in 1960, Ghana changed its government. Instead of a queen, Ghana chose to have a president. This made Ghana a republic, but it stayed part of the Commonwealth. The Queen sent a message saying she was proud that Ghana could choose its own way of government and that she would keep caring about the people of Ghana.

Royal visits

In 1958, Queen Elizabeth II mentioned in her Christmas broadcast that she and her husband planned to visit Ghana later in 1959. To get ready for this visit, the government of Ghana made plans for a special £2 coin featuring the Queen as "Queen of Ghana". But the coin was never made because the visit was delayed when the Queen became pregnant that same year.

Later, in November 1959, Prince Philip visited Ghana for six days. He opened the Ghana Academy of Learning, now called the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, and became its first leader. He also met with women traders from Accra, who gave him a gold tie-pin.

Queen Elizabeth II actually visited Ghana twice — first from November 9 to 20 in 1961, and again from November 7 to 9 in 1999. During her 1961 visit, she danced with Ghana’s president, Kwame Nkrumah, at a farewell ball in Accra. This moment was important for the history of the Commonwealth, even though there were safety concerns at the time.