One of the world’s richest female musicians Rihanna has been designated as the national hero of Barbados.
Barbados, an island state in the Caribbean, became a republic on Tuesday, replacing Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state.
Barbados is an island of nearly 300,000 people. It gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1966.
The transition was made at a ceremony organised in the capital, Bridgetown.
Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, attended the event where Sandra Mason was announced as country’s first president.
Rihanna graced the event with her presence where she was declared a “national hero” by Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley.
“On behalf of a great full nation, but an even prouder people, we therefore present to you the designee for national hero of Barbados Ambassador Robyn Rihanna Fenty,” said PM Mottley.
The Barbados-born Rihanna exploded on to the music scene in 2005, with hits like “We Found Love” and “Umbrella”, a collaboration with Jay-Z.
In 2019, she was seen supporting the West Indies cricket team in their world cup match against Sri Lanka at Chester-Le-Street.
In a video posted on the Twitter account of the International Cricket Council (ICC), the singer was seen taking pictures with star West Indies opener Chris Gayle, who signed a bat for her.
In August, she became one of the richest woman musicians on the planet with a net worth of $1.7 billion, according to Forbes.
