Queen of Nigeria

Queen of Nigeria
	Coat of arms of Nigeria
	Queen Elizabeth II (left) in Nigeria 2003;; Saidu Samaila Sambawa (centre)
Details
Style	Her Majesty
Formation	1 October 1960
Abolition	1 October 1963

From 1960 to 1963, Elizabeth II was Queen of Nigeria: Nigeria was an independent constitutional monarchy. She was also the monarch of the other Commonwealth realms, including the United Kingdom.

The Federation of Nigeria had superseded the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria within the British Empire on 1 October 1954. The Federation was initially a quasi-federal British colony. It became independent as a dominion within the Commonwealth of Nations on 1 October 1960 under the Parliament of the United Kingdom's Nigeria Independence Act. The Queen was head of state, though her constitutional roles in Nigeria were mostly delegated to the Governor-General of Nigeria.[1]

The retention of the monarchy was unpopular with Nigerians, and all political parties in Nigeria agreed that the country should be a republic.[1] Nigeria severed its relationship with the British monarchy, and adopted the President of Nigeria as head of state, on 1 October 1963,[1] when the Federation of Nigeria became the Federal Republic of Nigeria, a republic within the Commonwealth.

A stamp of Nigeria overprinted to mark the Queen's visit in 1956

The Queen visited Nigeria twice: 28 January–16 February 1956 and 3–6 December 2003, the latter time to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2003.[2]

Name	Reign	Consort	Heir apparent
Queen
Elizabeth II (b. 1926)	1 October 1960 – 1 October 1963	The Duke of Edinburgh	Charles, Prince of Wales

Titles
Elizabeth II 1 October 1960 – 1 June 1961: By the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith 1 June 1961 – 1 October 1963: Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Nigeria, and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth[3]

References

Chika B. Onwuekwe (2003). "Constitutional Development, 1914–1960: British Legacy or Local Exigency?". In Adebayo Oyebade (ed.). The Foundations of Nigeria: Essays in Honor of Toyin Falola. Africa World Press. pp. 172–173. ISBN 1-59221-120-8.
"Commonwealth visits since 1952". Official website of the British monarchy. Royal Household. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
Royal Styles and Title Act, 1961, quoted in Benjamin Obi Nwabueze (1982). A Constitutional History of Nigeria. C. Hurst & Co. p. 86. ISBN 0-905838-79-3.

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[onwuekwe-1] Chika B. Onwuekwe (2003). "Constitutional Development, 1914–1960: British Legacy or Local Exigency?". In Adebayo Oyebade (ed.). The Foundations of Nigeria: Essays in Honor of Toyin Falola. Africa World Press. pp. 172–173. ISBN 1-59221-120-8.

[2] "Commonwealth visits since 1952". Official website of the British monarchy. Royal Household. Retrieved 8 November 2015.

[3] Royal Styles and Title Act, 1961, quoted in Benjamin Obi Nwabueze (1982). A Constitutional History of Nigeria. C. Hurst & Co. p. 86. ISBN 0-905838-79-3.