- Jamaica presents bill to remove Charles as head of state
- Critics say new president should be elected, not nominated
- Debate on moving final court of appeal to Caribbean
KINGSTON/LONDON, March 1 (Reuters) - Many Jamaicans want their country to ditch King Charles as head of state but a bill presented by the government to do just that has frustrated some critics of the monarchy who believe the change should go further to slash colonial ties.
Jamaica gained independence in 1962 but - like 13 other former British colonies - it still retains the British monarch as its head of state.
Public opinion on the Caribbean island of nearly 3 million people has been shifting for years, and in December the government of Prime Minister Andrew Holness presented a bill to remove King Charles.
So not entirely independent then, we only got that in Australia in 1986 (Australia Act set the Australian High Court as the highest court of appeals, before that you could appeal to the British High Court)