Upon independence in 1948, King George VI became the monarch of Ceylon and reigned until his death in 1952; he was succeeded by his elder daughter Queen Elizabeth II.

In 1953, Elizabeth II was granted the official title of Queen of Ceylon by the country's parliament and, in this capacity, she visited the island nation in April 1954.

[2][3] In 1944, the British government appointed a commission under the chairmanship of Lord Soulbury to visit Ceylon for purposes of examining and discussing proposals for constitutional reform.

[8][9] Instruments of independence were officially handed over by the British to Prime Minister Don Stephen Senanayake, who had been voted in by the people at the first parliamentary election in August 1947.

Following the Westminister parliamentary tradition, Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake handed over the speech to the Duke who delivered it on behalf of King George VI.

Provided that you remain united and industrious you have nothing to fear and you may always rest assured that I, as your Queen, will watch your growing prosperity with the deepest pride and affection.

[19][29][30] The new parliamentary session was marked by the Ceremonial Opening of Parliament, during which the governor-general delivered the Throne Speech, on behalf of the monarch, which was drafted by the cabinet of Ceylon.

Queen Elizabeth II herself opened the Parliament of Ceylon and delivered the Speech from the Throne on 12 April 1954, while the governor-general, Viscount Soulbury, was functioning in the island.

[21][30] Thus, bills began with the phrase: "Be it enacted by the Queen's [or King's] Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and the House of Representatives of Ceylon in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows".

[31][32] In Ceylon, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council served as the country's final court of appeal and proceedings for indictable offences were brought in the sovereign's name in the form of The Queen [or King] versus [Name].

The preamble to the Statute of Westminster 1931 established the convention requiring the consent of all the Dominion parliaments, as well as that of the United Kingdom, to any alterations to the monarch's style and titles.

These legislations limited the succession to the natural (i.e. non-adopted), legitimate descendants of Sophia, Electress of Hanover, and stipulated that the monarch cannot be a Roman Catholic and must be in communion with the Church of England upon ascending the throne.

[58] When King George VI died in the early hours of 6 February 1952, all government offices, business houses, schools, and shops closed down across the Dominion of Ceylon as a mark of respect.

[59] The House of Representatives of Ceylon passed a motion of condolence on the death of the King, with an expression of its hope that the new Queen's reign "will be one of great happiness and prosperity to the peoples of the Commonwealth".

This proclamation was read from the steps of Parliament House, Colombo in three principal languages of Ceylon: English, Sinhalese and Tamil, to the large crowds outside.

[67] The Coronation gown of Queen Elizabeth II, was embroidered with the floral emblems of each Commonwealth nation, and it featured the Lotus flower of Ceylon, made with opals, mother of pearl, diamante, and soft green silk.

Thus, it became an established principle that the governor-general could assume active command provided the prime minister approved of his instructions and orders to the armed forces.

In 1948, the Duke, accompanied by the Duchess of Gloucester, visited the island to open Ceylon's first parliament after the country gained independence from the United Kingdom.

[99] After being greeted at the quayside by the governor-general and the prime minister, the Queen and the Duke drove in an open car through decorated streets to attend a civic reception at Colombo Town Hall.

[100] The welcome, as described by a Ceylonese civil servant, was "inspired by admiration for the person of the Monarch, a real and living sentiment, though only a few perhaps had a vivid perception of the part played by the Crown as a bond of the Commonwealth".

[105] On 12 April, the Queen, wearing her coronation dress, opened the third session of the second Parliament of Ceylon at Independence Hall and received addresses of welcome and loyalty.

We hope during our stay here to see some of the scenic beauty of this Island and your ruined cities with their archaeological treasures — a silent and constant reminder of your ancient civilisation.

She reviewed troops of the three services: the Army, Navy and the Air Force, and later held an investiture, and appointed Prime Minister Sir John Kotelawala to the Privy Council.

In the broadcast, the Queen said, "Your welcome, given so generously and spontaneously in city and countryside, has brought you very near to us both, and though we should have liked to stay longer in your beautiful island, we nevertheless feel that our time here has taught us much about your lives, your work and your ideals, which we shall certainly never forget".

"Following the general election of March 1960, the minority UNP government of Dudley Senanayake presented a Throne Speech that promised "early steps for the revision of the Constitution for the purpose of establishing a Republic of Ceylon within the Commonwealth".

[141] When the United Front (UF), led by Bandaranaike, won a landslide victory of over a two-thirds majority in Parliament in the general election of May 1970, the stage was set for radical constitutional changes.

It read, "By their vote democratically cast the people have given you a clear mandate to function as a Constituent Assembly to draft, adopt, and operate a new Constitution which will declare Ceylon to be a free Sovereign and Independent Republic...".

[141] After the adoption of the draft constitution, the members of the Constituent Assembly, including those from the UNP who had voted against it, adjourned to the Navarangahala where, at the auspicious time of 12:43 p.m., Ceylon became the Republic of Sri Lanka, abandoning its 2,500-year-old monarchical system.

[151] At Galle Face Green, festivities celebrating the nation's progress in democracy, included performances by Sri Lankan schoolchildren and a march by youth.

[152] The Tribune editorial of 24 October 1981, remarked:[153] To some the British Royalty was the legitimate successor of the unbroken Sinhala monarchy that had ruled Sri Lanka for more than 2,500 years from the days of Vijaya.