LONDON (Reuters) - Barbados wants to remove Britains Queen Elizabeth as its head of state and become a republic, the Caribbean island nations government has said, reviving a plan mooted several times in the past.

A former British colony that gained independence in 1966, Barbados has maintained a formal link with the British monarchy as have some other countries that were once part of the British empire.

The time has come to fully leave our colonial past behind, said Barbados Governor General Sandra Mason, delivering a speech on behalf of the countrys Prime Minister Mia Mottley.