Monarchy of Grenada

The monarchy of Grenada is a system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of Grenada. The current Grenadian monarch and head of state, since 8 September 2022, is King Charles III. As sovereign, he is the personal embodiment of the Grenadian Crown. Although the person of the sovereign is equally shared with 14 other independent countries within the Commonwealth of Nations, each country's monarchy is separate and legally distinct. As a result, the current monarch is officially titled King of Grenada and, in this capacity, he and other members of the royal family undertake public and private functions domestically and abroad as representatives of Grenada. However, the King is the only member of the royal family with any constitutional role.

All executive authority of Grenada is vested in the sovereign, and royal assent is required for the Parliament of Grenada to enact laws and for letters patent and Orders in Council to have legal effect. Most of the powers are exercised by the elected members of parliament, the ministers of the Crown generally drawn from amongst them, and the judges and justices of the peace. Other powers vested in the monarch, such as dismissal of a prime minister, are significant but are treated only as reserve powers and as an important security part of the role of the monarchy.

The Crown primarily functions as a nonpartisan guarantor of continuous and stable governance in the country, with the most notable instance being the period of revolutionary government from 1979 to 1983. While some powers are exercisable only by the sovereign, most of the monarch's operational and ceremonial duties are exercised by his representative, the governor-general of Grenada.

Grenada was sighted by Christopher Columbus in 1498. First settled by indigenous peoples, Grenada by the time of European contact was inhabited by the Caribs. French colonists killed most of the Caribs on the island and established plantations on the island, eventually importing African slaves to work on the sugar plantations. Grenada remained French until 1762, when it capitulated to the British. It was formally ceded to Britain in 1763 by the Treaty of Paris. In 1779 it was recaptured by the French, but it was restored to Britain in 1783. The emancipation of the slaves finally took effect in 1833.

Grenada was headquarters of the government of the British Windward Islands from 1885 until 1958, when Grenada joined the West Indies Federation. The federation ended in 1962, after which Grenada attempted to federate with the remaining territories in the Eastern Caribbean. In March 1967, however, the island was granted "associate statehood" status by the United Kingdom, giving it complete control over its internal affairs.

A constitutional conference was held in London in 1973. Grenada gained independence on 7 February 1974, as a sovereign state and independent constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state of Grenada. Prince Richard of Gloucester was due to represent the Queen at the independence celebrations, but his visit was cancelled as the transition to independence was marked by violence, strikes, and controversy centring upon Eric Gairy, who was named prime minister. Opposition to Gairy's rule continued to mount, and a coalition called the New Jewel Movement (NJM) staged a bloodless coup in 1979, proclaiming the People's Revolutionary Government in Grenada, with their leader Maurice Bishop as prime minister.

The New Jewel Movement led by Maurice Bishop seized power in a coup d'état and established the People's Revolutionary Government (PRG) on 13 March 1979. On 25 March, Bishop announced the "People's Laws", which effectively suspended the 1974 constitution, but retained the Queen as Grenada's head of state. People's Law Number 3 stated:

The Head of State shall remain Her Majesty the Queen and her representative in this country shall continue to be the Governor-General who shall perform such functions as the People's Revolutionary Government may from time to time advise.