Once a dependency of Jamaica, the Turks and Caicos Islands became a crown colony on Jamaican independence in 1962.

BBC: Turks and Caicos profile

With the Falklands conflict behind her, she travelled to China in September 1982 to open talks on another delicate sovereignty issue: the future of Hong Kong, a British Crown Colony.

BBC: Thatcher papers reveal Tory party split over Falklands

In 1808, Sierra Leone became a British crown colony.

CNN: Thursday,

Ever since Britain surrendered the Crown Colony to the PRC in 1997, Beijing has, like a boa constrictor, inexorably tightened its grip on the people of Hong Kong.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: The threat we're ignoring now