Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the context of "Windward Islands"

A microstate or ministate is a sovereign state having a very small population or land area, usually both. However, the meanings of "state" and "very small" are not well-defined in international law. Some recent attempts to define microstates have focused on identifying qualitative features that are linked to their size and population, such as partial delegation of their sovereignty to larger states, such as for international defense.

Commonly accepted examples of microstates include five historic European microstates: Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City. Malta and Luxembourg are sometimes included in that list but are generally considered too populous to be genuine microstates. Other examples are small, isolated island states in the Pacific Ocean: Nauru, Palau, Niue, Cook Islands and Tuvalu. Some small Caribbean countries such as Saint Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines may be considered microstates by some but are often not included due to them being grouped together as small island countries. Singapore and Bahrain are sometimes considered microstates but some argue are too populous, self reliant or powerful to be considered true microstates and their island status can play an important factor too.The smallest political entity recognized as a sovereign state is Vatican City, with fewer than 1,000 residents and an area of only 49 hectares (120 acres). Some microstates – such as Singapore, Monaco and Vatican City – are city-states consisting of a single municipality.

Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about 100 miles (160 km) north of Trinidad and the South American mainland.

Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Petite Martinique, and several small islands which lie to the north of the main island and are a part of the Grenadines. Its size is 344 square kilometres (133 sq mi), with an estimated population of 114,621 in 2024. Its capital is St. George's. Grenada is also known as the "Island of Spice" due to its production of nutmeg and mace crops.

The House of Windsor is the current royal house of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms. The house's name was inspired by the historic Windsor Castle estate. The house was founded on 17 July 1917, when King George V changed the name of the royal house from the German Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the English Windsor due to anti-German sentiment during the First World War. There have been five British monarchs of the House of Windsor: George V, Edward VIII, George VI, Elizabeth II, and Charles III. The children and male-line descendants of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, also genealogically belong to the House of Oldenburg since Philip was by birth a member of the Glücksburg branch of that house.

The monarch is head of state of fifteen sovereign states. These are the United Kingdom, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu. As well as these separate monarchies, there are also three Crown Dependencies, fourteen British Overseas Territories, two associated states of New Zealand, and one territory.

A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state in the Commonwealth of Nations that has the same constitutional monarch and head of state as the other realms. The current monarch is King Charles III. Except for the United Kingdom, in each of the realms the monarch is represented by a governor-general. The phrase Commonwealth realm is an informal description not used in any law.

As of 2025, there are 15 Commonwealth realms: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and the United Kingdom. While the Commonwealth of Nations has 56 independent member states, only these 15 have Charles III as head of state. He is also Head of the Commonwealth, a non-constitutional role.

Saint Vincent is a volcanic island in the Caribbean. It is the largest island of the country Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and is located in the Caribbean Sea, between Saint Lucia and Grenada. It is composed of partially submerged volcanic mountains. Its largest volcano and the country's highest peak, La Soufrière, is active, with the latest episode of volcanic activity having begun in December 2020 and intensifying in April 2021.

There were major territory wars between the indigenous population of the Black Caribs, also called the Garifuna, and Great Britain in the 18th century, before the island was ceded to the British in 1763, and again in 1783. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines gained independence from the United Kingdom on 27 October 1979, and became part of the British Commonwealth of Nations thereafter. Approximately 100,000 people currently live on the island, and the population saw significant migration to the UK in the early 1900s, and between the 1940s, and 1980s. There has also been significant migration to Canada, and other larger neighbouring Anglo-Caribbean islands. The main island consists of the capital Kingstown, with the rest of the island divided into, five main coastal strip towns of; Layou, Barrouallie, Chateaubelair, Georgetown, and Calliaqua.

Kingstown /ˈkɪŋsˌtaʊn/ is the capital and largest city of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The city, located on the main island of Saint Vincent, has the main port and the biggest commercial center of the islands. With a population of 12,909 (2012), Kingstown is the most populous settlement in the country. It is the island's agricultural industry centre and a port of entry for tourists. The city lies within the parish of Saint George in the south-west corner of Saint Vincent.

The Grenadines (/ˈɡrɛnədiːnz/) is a chain of small islands that lie on a line between the larger islands of Saint Vincent and Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. Nine are inhabited and open to the public (or ten, if the offshore island of Young Island is counted): Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, Union Island, Petit St Vincent, Palm Island and Mayreau, all in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, plus Petite Martinique and Carriacou in Grenada. Several additional privately owned islands, such as Calivigny, are also inhabited. Notable uninhabited islands of the Grenadines include Petit Nevis, formerly used by whalers, and Petit Mustique, which was the centre of a prominent real estate scam in the early 2000s.

The northern two-thirds of the chain, including about 32 islands and cays, is part of the country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The southern third of the chain belongs to the country of Grenada. Carriacou is the largest and most populous of the Grenadines.

Bequia (/ˈbɛkwiː/ BEK-wee or /ˈbɛkweɪ/ BEK-way) is the second-largest island in the Grenadines at 7 square miles (18 km). It is part of the country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and lies approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from the nation’s capital, Kingstown, on the main island, Saint Vincent.

The name Bequia is said to mean "island of the clouds" in the language of the ancient Arawak. The island’s early inhabitants were the Kalinago (Caribs), who lived throughout the Grenadines before the arrival of Europeans.