An Observance for Commonwealth Day
14th March 2011 at 3:15 pm
Commonwealth Day is the annual celebration of the Commonwealth– the centre-piece of the day is a multi-faith service at Westminster Abbey organised by The Royal Commonwealth Society, on behalf of the Council of Commonwealth Societies, which is usually attended by Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. This year’s theme was ‘Woman as agents of change.’
In April 1949, Heads of State from Australia, Britain, Ceylon, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, and the Canadian Secretary of State for External Affairs met in London and deliberated over six days. The outcome was the Declaration of London which gave birth to the modern Commonwealth. The origins of the Commonwealth stretch back much further than sixty years, but 1949 marks the pivotal point at which the Commonwealth's colonial legacy was positively transformed into a partnership based on equality, choice, and consensus. The organisation decided at a meeting in Canberra in 1976 that Commonwealth Day would be celebrated on the second Monday in March each year.
See also:
Abbey news: An Observance for Commonwealth Day 2010
The Royal Commonwealth Society website