Antigua and Barbuda 's new Cabinet has been sworn in after Prime Minister Gaston Browne secured an unprecedented fourth consecutive electoral victory . For the first time, elected officials pledged allegiance directly to the country, ending a more than 40-year tradition of swearing loyalty to the British sovereign. The change follows a constitutional amendment approved by Parliament in December 2025, which formally removed the requirement to pledge loyalty to King Charles III , his heirs and successors. The new oath now mandates allegiance solely to the state of Antigua and Barbuda, its constitution, and its laws. Antigua and Barbuda is an island nation at the edge of the Caribbean Sea. Antigua was colonised by English settlers in the early 1600s and Barbuda a few decades later. The country became an associated state of the United Kingdom with full internal autonomy in 1967 and achieved independence in 1981, but opted to remain within the Commonwealth , with Queen Elizabeth II as head of state.…