Each year, The Queen attends the Commonwealth Day celebrations in London. Since 1977, Commonwealth Day has been celebrated throughout the Commonwealth on the second Monday in March.

The Queen attends an inter-denominational service held in Westminster Abbey, followed by a reception hosted by the Commonwealth Secretary-General.

Modern communications technology allows The Queen to speak to every part of the Commonwealth through her annual Christmas and Commonwealth Day messages.

Both messages are delivered by The Queen as Head of the Commonwealth to the peoples of the Commonwealth as a whole. They are special in that they reflect Her Majesty's personal views and are not drafted on ministerial advice.

On Commonwealth Day 2013, The Queen signed the Charter of the Commonwealth, an historic new Charter adopted by all Commonwealth leaders in December 2012 which reaffirms the core values that unite the Commonwealth, bringing them together for the first time in a single document.

Read the Commonwealth Charter

Read The Queen's speech at the Commonwealth Reception 2013

The Charter sets out the 16 core values and principles which have been defined and strengthened at different stages throughout the Commonwealth’s history. It upholds and reaffirms the Commonwealth’s commitment to democracy, human rights, peace and security, good governance, protecting the environment, providing access to health, education, food and shelter, gender equality, recognising the needs of small and vulnerable states and the important role civil society plays for all the people of the Commonwealth.

The Charter also recognises that the potential of and need for the Commonwealth has never been greater, and affirms that the special strength of the Commonwealth lies in its diversity and its shared inheritance in language, culture and the rule of law, and its shared history and tradition.