ShmoopTube

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[Dino and Coop singing]

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There's an old saying that goes, “the sun never sets on the British Empire.” [The sun setting]

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But it wasn’t because the Brits employed some crazy powerful wizards to defy the laws [A wizard stops the sun]

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of time and space and keep the sun shining 24/7.

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Though that would be pretty cool… [Gandalf holding the sun still]

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No, the saying referred to the fact that in its heyday, England had colonies all over [Old British colonies are highlighted on a globe]

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the world, so chances were it was always daylight in some part of the British Empire.

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But over time, these colonies decided they needed some space, and many left the British

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Empire.

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You’re probably familiar with some of those colonies.

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But even as countries broke up with the British Empire… [Canada and Britain crying at a table]

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… some still wanted to stay friends.

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Guess they changed their relationship status to "it's complicated." [Canada changing its relationship status]

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That friendship became the British Commonwealth, later changed to The Commonwealth of Nations.

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Or sometimes, just simply The Commonwealth.

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We wonder if The Commonwealth also changed their Facebook name to "it's complicated."

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Anyway.

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The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of countries, meaning member nations are free [Coop pointing at a blackboard]

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to come and go as they please.

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They are united by things like a common language, shared values such as holding fair and open" [Dino pointing at a blackboard]

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elections, and respecting human rights.

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Not too shabby...

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They probably also had matching bro tanks, or something… [Two athletes called Britain and Kenya high five]

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The Commonwealth is made up of 53 countries ranging from some of the richest to some of

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the poorest in the world.

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It includes Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and a whole bunch more, [The countries are circled]

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comprising different types of governments.

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Now you may be wondering, what about the British Queen? [The queen appears]

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Does Her Majesty get to rule the Commonwealth with an iron fist? [The queen holding up Iron Man's fist]

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After all, it was King George’s ability to do whatever he wanted to his colonies that

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led to the American Revolution. [George Washington rips up King George's map]

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Well, as of 2016, Queen Elizabeth II is technically the Head of the Commonwealth.

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She also rules supreme over 15 of the countries in the Commonwealth. [The queen wearing 15 crowns]

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But when it comes to her actual power, it’s largely symbolic.

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No matter what, the Queen has to respect the laws of the individual nations in the Commonwealth. [The queen falls over from the weight of the crowns]

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So even if she wanted to, she doesn’t have the power to pass some crazy law that everyone

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in the Commonwealth has to obey… [Queen holds up 'mandatory corgi ownership' law]

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Which means that unfortunately, mandatory corgi ownership will never be a law. [Men look scared of the corgis]

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And actually, all major decisions for the Commonwealth are made at meetings that occur

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bi-annually – that’s every two years – where a bunch of heads of Commonwealth Governments [A commonwealth meeting]

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get together.

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The group has a really original name, too.

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They’re known as…

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The Commonwealth Head of Governments.

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…Okay, so they're not super creative.

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The Commonwealth also hosts its own Olympics-style sporting event every four years. [Pictures of the commonwealth games]

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To date, Australia leads the countries in wins, with over 700 medals. [A kangaroo on top of the podium]

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No word yet on those vicious accusations about wallaby steroid use... [A wallaby's arms get muscly]

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