Has the time come for Caribbean Republics?

The conversation between Lester and Fidel, at which I was present as a member of the Antigua and Barbuda delegation, started with the revolutionary Cuban leader asking Lester (now Sir Lester) what big plans he had in mind for Antigua and Barbuda. Lester told Fidel that he was contemplating moving to make Antigua and Barbuda a Republic, relinquishing the monarch as the country's Head of State. Fidel's response stopped Sir Lester and the entire Antigua and Barbuda delegation in our tracks. 'Why?',