Barbados has proclaimed Rihanna a national hero: ‘May you always shine brightly like a diamond.’
Rihanna’s whole “work, work, work, work, work” has been recognised by her homeland.
Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley called the musician and entrepreneur the country’s 11th national hero as the island celebrated becoming a republic for the first time in history.
“Ambassador Robyn Rihanna Fenty has shown innovative and pioneering leadership in her service to Barbados,” Prime Minister Mia Mottley said during the Monday night event.
The 33-year-old “Umbrella” singer collected the award while dressed in an orange Bottega Veneta gown with multiple huge braids.
“May you continue to shine like a diamond and bring respect to your country,” Prime Minister Mottley said, using the singer’s song “Diamonds” from 2012.
The musician got a huge medal embossed with the shape of Barbados and blew a kiss to the ecstatic throng in a separate ceremony on Tuesday.
“This is one of those days that I will never forget.” It’s also a day I didn’t see coming,” she remarked in a short address encouraging the young to keep pushing Barbados ahead. “I’ve toured the globe and gotten several prizes and accolades, but nothing compares to being acknowledged in your own backyard.”
The event on Monday was attended by a number of politicians and dignitaries, including Prince Charles, whom Rihanna met after being brought on stage alongside Mottley.
more about Robyn Rihanna : Rihanna Tops $1 Billion in Net Worth: Report
When Mottley introduced Rihanna, she said the pop singer came from modest beginnings and was born less than a mile away from the wedding.
In a letter to Barbados on Tuesday, Queen Elizabeth II, who is no longer the country’s head of state, expressed her congratulations.
“I express my congratulations to you and all Barbadians on this historic occasion and your assumption of office as the first President of Barbados,” she wrote. “I first visited your lovely nation on the verge of independence in early 1966, and I’m delighted that my son is still here with you now. Barbados’ people have kept a particular place in my heart ever then.”
Barbados has been independent from the United Kingdom since 1966, but on Tuesday, the country’s first president, Sandra Mason, was sworn in as the country’s first president to commemorate the country’s 55th year of independence.
Rihanna is now officially a billionaire:
She is the ‘richest female musician,’ according to Forbes.
The island’s journey to becoming a republic started more than two decades ago, and completed last month with the island’s Parliament choosing the first-ever president with a two-thirds majority vote.
According to Suleiman Bulbulia, a journalist for the Barbados Today newspaper, the flag, coat of arms, and national song would stay the same, but specific allusions may alter. The titles “royal” and “crown” will be phased out, thus the Royal Barbados Police Force will become the Barbados Police Service, and “crown lands” will become “state lands,” he wrote.
He remarked, “It is the dawn of a new age.” “Any Barbadian may now aspire to be our President.”
It’s the first time in more than 20 years that Barbados has honoured a national hero: the last recipient was former cricketer Garfield St. Aubrun Sobers.
Rihanna joins a long list of other Barbados national heroes, including public personalities and politicians such as Errol Barrow, Barbados’ first prime minister, and slave uprising leader Bussa.
Rihanna was named one of the wealthiest female performers in the world by Forbes this year, earning her the status of billionaire. Her net worth is estimated to be $1.7 billion, with the most of it coming from her cosmetics brand Fenty Beauty, according to the outlet.
Rihanna Has Been Named a National Hero.
That’s right, I said it. Barbados deposed Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state and became a republic on Monday, the 55th anniversary of its independence from the United Kingdom. Out with colonialism and a bloody history of imperial legacies, and in with Dame Sandra Mason and, of course, Rihanna.
The celebration on Monday was a joyous occasion attended by scores of authorities, including Prince Charles, who spoke in place of his mother to congratulate Barbadians in a speech that recognised the island’s “appalling crime” of British slavery. Mason, 72, was formerly governor-general, and Prime Minister Mia Mottley swore him in as the country’s new president. As the island transitioned to being a republic, Parliament chose her to be the Barbadian head of state in October. “This distinction is being granted to a lady of this land,” Mottley remarked in a speech commemorating Mason’s inauguration.
Is it possible that another Barbadian lady will be honoured? Rihanna, our favourite millionaire and assless-pajama designer, has been named a “national hero for Barbados” by the prime minister. There are few methods to establish a postcolonial republic that I can conceive of. To her impressive collection of titles, add “Right Excellent Robyn Rihanna Fenty.”
As a wind came through, Rihanna addressed the audience, “This is a day I’ll never, ever forget.” “It’s also a day I didn’t see coming.” Barbadians are proud people, as you may be aware. We’re arguably the most self-assured individuals I’ve ever met. And I carry that pride with me everywhere I go in the globe. The world will know that we are Bajan to the bone no matter where we travel.” She praised the island’s residents as “real Barbados heroes” and declared herself “Bajan till the day I die” after receiving her new title. The island is “still the only place I’ve ever called home,” added Rihanna, who owns nearby Beverly Hills estates.
Rihanna expressed her gratitude for the honour in her closing remarks, praying for the youth of Barbados to continue pushing the island forward. “I have travelled the world and received several awards and recognitions, but nothing, nothing, compares to being recognised in the soil that you grew in,” she said.
more from new 24 hour:
- ‘Encanto’s trailer promises that a paranormal, musical Disney adventure
- What Is the Season 10 Theme for ‘American Horror Story Double Feature’?
- Emma Coronel Aispuro: spouse of El Chapo pleads responsible for drugs
- Sage Steele, an ESPN anchor, has been fired.
source: usatoday
