The vibrant and dynamic island of Barbados is now a Republic – severing its last colonial bonds to Britain after 400 years. This move has welcomed the island’s first President, Her Excellency The Most Honourable, Dame Sandra Mason, officially replacing Queen Elizabeth II as the nation’s Head of State.
But there was another kind of royalty in the air, as the Caribbean nation grew into excitement to welcome Ambassador Robyn “Rihanna” Fenty to join in the celebrations as a dignitary. She was previously Cultural Ambassador in 2008, with an expanded role in 2008 to “Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary”. This meant her mandate was to promote tourism, education and investment.
During the ceremony, Prime Minister Mia Mottley conferred the honour of Right Excellent Robyn Rihanna Fenty, National Hero of Barbados.
Prime Minister Mottley describes Rihanna’s contributions to Barbados as “visionary and pioneering leadership, extraordinary work and excellence to the honour of Barbados”. She encouraged her to continue to “shine bright like a diamond” – a line from her 2012 hit single. Rihanna is the 11th National Hero of Barbados and the second woman to be given the title. The last appointment of National Hero was in 1998.
Rihanna has contributed over $85M across 150 projects through the Clara Lionel Foundation, which she founded in 2012 in honour of her grandparents. The foundation works across nations in Africa, the Caribbean and North America, spanning education, disaster preparedness and social justice. She humbly accepted the national honour and described Barbadians as “the proudest people I know”.
Several Twitter users from the Caribbean and around the world basked in the festivities and shared their excitement around the hashtag #BimRepublic. Here are some memorable tweets.
