Queen of Ghana

Elizabeth II was Queen of Ghana from 1957 to 1960, when Ghana was an independent sovereign state and a constitutional monarchy. She was also queen of the United Kingdom and other sovereign states. Her constitutional roles in Ghana were delegated to the governor-general of Ghana.

Ghana was the first western African country to achieve independence from European colonization. British rule ended in 1957, when the Ghana Independence Act 1957 transformed the British Crown Colony of the Gold Coast into the independent sovereign state of Ghana, with Queen Elizabeth II as head of state on 6 March 1957. Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent represented the Queen at the independence celebrations. On 6 March, the Duchess formally opened the first parliament of independent Ghana, on behalf of the Queen, by giving the Speech from the Throne. The Duchess read the Queen's personal message to the people of Ghana, which said:

I have entrusted to my aunt the duty of opening on my behalf the first session of the Parliament of Ghana. My thoughts are with you on this great day as you take up the full responsibilities of independent nationhood and I rejoice to welcome another new member of our growing Commonwealth family of nations. The hopes of many, especially in Africa, hang on your endeavours. It is my earnest and confident belief that my people in Ghana will go forward in freedom and justice, in unity among themselves and in brotherhood with all the peoples of the Commonwealth. May God bless you all.

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

Effective with the Ghana Independence Act 1957, no British government minister could advise the sovereign on any matters pertaining to Ghana, meaning that on all matters of the Ghana, the monarch was advised solely by Ghanaian ministers of the Crown. The Queen was represented in Ghana by the Governor-General of Ghana, who was appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Ghanaian government. Two governors-general held office: Charles Noble Arden-Clarke (1957), and William Francis Hare, 5th Earl of Listowel (1957–1960).

The Queen and the National Assembly of Ghana constituted the Parliament of Ghana. All executive powers of Ghana rested with the sovereign. All laws in Ghana were enacted only with the granting of royal assent, done by the Governor-General on behalf of the sovereign. Every Ghanaian Bill presented to the Governor-General, had the following words of enactment:

Be it enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the National Assembly of Ghana in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same as follows—

The Governor-General was also responsible for summoning, proroguing, and dissolving Parliament. All Ghanaian ministers of the Crown held office at the pleasure of the Governor-General.