Standing or seating, is Caruana ‘queen’?

The Armando LaGrande Column says:

Stanging or seating, or even standing on your head, is the chief minister of Gibraltar 'queen'? That is the question being asked after people were formally asked to stand up when Peter Caruana arrived at the parade for the Queen's Birthday.

In theory it has nothing to do with Caruana, in fact the same would apply to any other chief minister.

That cleared, the question that needs clearing is whether the Chief Minister is the head of state of Gibraltar, the representative of the Queen?

If the Governor is no longer the representative of the Queen, the Foreign Office should issue a formal statement announcing that henceforth the Chief Minister represents the Queen.

If that's not the case, they should also issue a formal statement saying that the Chief Minister is the Chief Minister.

The invitation people received stated that it was "a parade to celebrate the birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II."

The official programme said it was "a parade to celebrate the 85th birthday of Her Majesty the Queen."

But there in the official programme, in black upon white, it ordered that when the Chief Minister arrives "please stand until the Chief Minister has taken his seat."

That's a funny thing to order the public to do, because at the equivalent parade in London those invited were not instructed to stand up and stay standing until the Prime Minister took his seat.

That is the point, and one would imagine that a Prime Minister is of greater importance than a Chief Minister in the protocol list.

So, who gave instructions for those attending the parade to be instructed to stand and when not to stand as regards the Chief Minister?

This is the same Chief Minister who said the other day that the decolonisation of Gibraltar "has already occurred."

If that is so, will there be a Royal proclamation announcing it?

In the meantime, is the Governor still the representative of the Queen or is it now the Chief Minister, whoever may be occupying that post at any time?

Those are the questions. Where are the answers...?