LONDON: Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Britain's Prince Charles, Prince of Wales arriving for the formal opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting at Buckingham Palace in London on Thursday — AFP LONDON, Apr 19 (AFP): Queen Elizabeth II, the Head of the Commonwealth, opened the Commonwealth summit for what may be the last time on Thursday voicing hope that her son would be allowed to carry on her role.
Queen Elizabeth, who turns 92 on Saturday, welcomed leaders from the 53 Commonwealth nations—mostly former colonies—to Buckingham Palace for two days of talks that will include discussions on trade, marine protection and tackling cyber crime.
In her opening speech, Queen Elizabeth spoke of her own "extraordinary journey" as head of the Commonwealth, which started under her father King George VI with the London Declaration of 1949.
"It is my sincere wish that the Commonwealth will continue to offer stability and continuity for future generations and will decide that one day, the Prince of Wales should carry on the important work started by my father in 1949," she said, referring to her son Prince Charles.
Charles (69) told Commonwealth leaders the body had been "a fundamental feature of my life for as long as I can remember".
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