Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations is usually just referred to as "the Commonwealth" and formerly as "the British Commonwealth." It is a voluntary association of 53 independent sovereign nations that are former possessions of the British Empire, except for Mozambique and the United Kingdom itself. Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of the Commonwealth, and is recognized by each state as the symbol of the free association of the Commonwealth's members. However, this does not mean that she has political power over Commonwealth nations.