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The paper examines the reasons that India, Pakistan and Ceylon chose to become Dominions within the Commonwealth instead of becoming republics on independence as many expected. Each of these South Asian states had different motives that compelled them to take on a form of government more associated in areas where the British had settled in significant numbers. The ‘Tropical Dominions’ differed from the settler cases and tested this vague British concept. The British and South Asians had to compromise their wishes in order to satisfy their wants. India is characterised here as the ‘Expedient Dominion’, Pakistan the ‘Siege Dominion’ and Ceylon the ‘Imitation Dominion’. This paper focuses on the years immediately prior to independence to understand the various objectives of the South Asian elites that negotiated with the British for their sovereignty and how they varied from each other and from the Dominion ideal.

This article assesses the role and powers of the Queen as Head of State during the political crises surrounding Brexit and the prorogation of parliament in 2019. These crises in Westminster highlighted the lack of contemporary awareness of the Queen's constitutional capacities and constraints in such tense political conditions. A consequence of this was widespread confusion and ignorance regarding the use of the prerogative powers by both the Queen as Head of State and the Prime Minister as Head of Government. It seeks to show the importance of understanding the Queen's position as a political actor rather than a purely ceremonial one by drawing on modern British and Commonwealth history.