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Peter Beckingham

Former governor in Turks and Caicos Islands

Part of UK in Grand Turk

10th March 2014

Team Commonwealth, Team Turks and Caicos

Today we celebrate being a part of one of the world’s largest group of countries as we mark Commonwealth Day with a public holiday.

From Canada to the Cook Islands, and from St Kitt’s to the world’s largest democracy, India, the Commonwealth embraces an extraordinary range of countries, including the Turks and Caicos, covering a third of the world’s population.

This year is also a special one for the organization as over 70 countries and territories take part this July  in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

In preparation for this, the TCI will welcome the Queen’s Baton Relay to the islands in April, which will cover some 190,000 km before arriving in Glasgow.

Commonwealth day

There will be an opportunity for children across the TCI to run with the Baton, which started its journey earlier this year at Buckingham Palace before travelling through India, Australia, the South Pacific and many other countries and territories.

As Her Majesty Herself said, “Experiences of life differ widely throughout the Commonwealth, and we each make contributions from sometimes very different viewpoints. But we are committed to the same goals. Together we offer each other encouragement and draw strength from this mutual support.”

So, I look forward to meeting our athletes before they depart for Scotland to represent Turks and Caicos in one of the world’s largest sporting events. They will compete on the track, in the weightlifting arena and the shooting range.

Together the UK and the Turks and Caicos Islands are part of #TeamCommonwealth.

Read watch or listen to Her Majesty the Queen’s Commonwealth Day message in full here.

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About Peter Beckingham

Peter was the Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands from 2013 to 2016. Before this, he was British Deputy High Commissioner to India, based in Mumbai, the commercial capital,…

Peter was the Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands from
2013 to 2016. Before this, he was British Deputy High Commissioner to India, based in Mumbai, the commercial capital, where he had a responsibility for developing UK-India trade and investment. His earlier appointments have
included Consul-General and Director-General of Trade and Investment in
Sydney, and British Ambassador to the Philippines, where he initiated
the UK Government’s involvement in a peace process with the Philippine
Government and Muslim rebel groups.
Peter is married to Jill, a teacher of special needs, and they have
two grown up children. His outside interests include cricket, golf and
running.