President Akufo-Addo ordered that all flags in Ghana be flown at half-mast in honour of the Late Queen Elizabeth II, who died on Thursday, September 9, 2022.

This president's directive has caused some division among Ghanaians who are arguing about the significance of the order since Ghana is now a sovereign state.

But what most Ghanaians don't know is that aside from being the Head of Commonwealth Nations, the late Queen Elizabeth II was the first Head of State of Ghana.

Queen Elizabeth II, Head of State of Ghana

For the first three years of Ghana becoming an independent nation, between March 6, 1957, and July 1, 1960, Elizabeth II was the Head of State of Ghana.

This was because around that time, though Ghana was an independent sovereign state, it was still a constitutional monarchy which gave the Queen the power to be head of the United Kingdom and other sovereign states under the monarchy.

The constitutional roles of Queen Elizabeth in Ghana were delegated to the governor-general, who acted as a representative of the Queen. Between March 6, 1957, and July 1, 1960, two governors-general, Charles Noble Arden-Clarke (1957) and William Francis Hare (1957 to 1960), represented the Queen in Ghana.

During that period, the Parliament of Ghana was made up of the Queen and the National Assembly of Ghana, and all laws of the country were assented to only by her.

Queen Elizabeth was the executive authority of the state, and she was advised by Ghanaian ministers for the Crown. Ghana's economy during that period was one of the best in the world.

Queen Elizabeth's role as the Head of State of Ghana ended on July 1, 1996, when Ghana became a republic. Under the first contribution of the Republic of Ghana, the president replaced the monarch as the executive head of state.

The BBC has reported that the King and Queen Consort will spend the night at Balmoral Castle and return to Britain on Friday.

The King will decide if he will rule as King Charles III or choose a different name.

Britain's longest-serving monarch, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, died at the age of 96 on Thursday.

The Queen died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

Her death comes after the BBC earlier announced that the Queen's doctors had expressed concerns about her health around mid-morning on Thursday, September 8, 2022.

Born on April 21, 1926, the Queen, christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, immediately acceded the British throne on February 6, 1952, when her father, King George VI, died.

She thus ruled for 70 years before her death.

Source: Ghanaweb