The wildly talented, idolised and successful Robyn ‘Rihanna’ Fenty has something more to be proud of other than her array of Grammys and Guinness World Records that she has under her belt. The singer turned businesswoman has been honoured as a national hero of her home country Barbados.
Following the removal of Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state after announcing their plans to become a republic last year, the Caribbean nation held a special ceremony that started Monday (29 November). It saw the end of nearly four centuries of having a British head of state and inaugurated their very first president Sandra Mason, which will go down in the history books. Being one of the more populated islands in the Caribbean, they gained independence from Britain in 1966 and will follow the footsteps of other nations that removed the Queen as head of state as well.
Having been an ambassador for Barbados for nearly four years, Rihanna is the country’s 11th national hero but only the second woman to be honoured with this title. Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Motley, when presenting the award, said: “On behalf of a grateful nation, but an even prouder people, we therefore present to you, the designee, for national hero of Barbados, ambassador Robyn Rihanna Fenty. May you continue to shine like a diamond.” Her new title means she will be known as The Right Excellent Robyn Rihanna Fenty.
After finding fame in 2005 with her hit single ‘Pon De Replay’, Rihanna’s career spiralled her into a lifetime of success. Releasing her massively successful albums A Girl Like Me, Good Girl Gone Bad and Rated R in 2006, 2008 and 2009 respectively, she has remained relevant still to this day. Despite not releasing an album since 2016 she has kept fans eager to hear new music and has instead developed her business Fenty Beauty.
Rihanna has every reason to be proud of her achievements, and despite her nine-album discography, RiRi fans are still desperate to hear more music from the Caribbean legend.
