Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Note on nomenclature -- Note on citations and abbreviations -- Introduction -- A. The Office of High Commissioner -- B. High Commissioners and Diplomacy -- Chapter One. Beginnings, 1880-1914 -- A. Colonial Representation in London -- B. The Emergence of the Office of High Commissioner -- C. Early High Commissioners and the Establishment of the Office -- D. Conclusion -- Chapter Two. Consolidation, 1914-late 1930s -- A. The Growing Stature of the Dominions: Their Entry into International Relations and the Question of Constitutional Change -- B. The Enhanced Standing of High Commissioners in London -- 1. The importance of the office -- 2. An expanding work load -- 3. The growing diplomatic character of the office -- 4. Winning enhanced status -- 5. Consultation, information gathering, and high commissioners' meetings -- C. Limitations on High Commissioners as Diplomats -- 1. Problems with prime ministers -- 2. Other channels of communication -- i. Prime minister to prime minister -- ii. Government-to-government -- iii. Liaison officers -- D. The Decline of the Office of Governor-General and the Emergence of British High Commissioners -- E. South African and Irish Overtures to Canada, and the Despatch of a South African 'Accredited Representative' -- F. Conclusion -- Chapter Three. Discontent, late 1930s-mid-1940s -- A. High Commissioners and High Commissioners' Meetings during the Second World War -- B. The Expansion of High Commissions -- C. Anglo-Irish Complications -- D. High Commissioner Woes: Canada and South Africa -- E. The Standing of High Commissioners Elsewhere -- F. Post-War Developments -- 1. Ireland and Australia: 'an Ambassador, or a Minister or a What'? -- 2. Moving forwards: Ireland and Canada -- G. Deputy High Commissioners -- H. Conclusion -- Chapter Four. Equal Status, 1946-1948.

A. Discussions in Ottawa -- B. Dominion Views of the Office -- C. Britain's Deliberations -- D. The Prime Ministers' Meeting, 11-22 October 1948 -- E. Implementing the Prime Ministers' Decisions -- F. Conclusion -- Chapter Five. Substantive Equality, late 1940s-early 1950s -- A. Keeping India in the Commonwealth -- B. High Commissioners to and from India, Pakistan, and Ceylon -- 1. India and the question of translating high commissioners into ambassadors -- 2. Accreditation and agréation -- C. The Diplomatic Consequences of Ireland's Departure from the Commonwealth -- Later problems -- D. Diplomatic Immunity -- E. High Commissioners and the Décanat -- 1. Further equality -- 2. South Africa and the décanat, 1956 -- F. Conclusion -- Chapter Six. 'Ambassadors plus', early 1950s-mid-1960s -- A. Pageantry and Protocol -- 1. Royal occasions -- 2. Presentation of credentials -- B. The Activity of High Commissioners -- 1. Relations with the receiving state -- 2. The influence of British high commissions -- 3. Collegial relations -- C. The Commonwealth Relations Office -- 1. CRO diplomacy -- 2. Information sharing -- 3. Ireland and the CRO -- D. Safeguarding the Office: The 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations -- 1. Preparation -- 2. The Conference, 2 March-18 April 1961 -- 3. Impact -- E. Conclusion -- Chapter Seven. Normalisation, early 1960s-mid-1970s -- A. Consular Relations -- 1. The Commonwealth's consular arrangements -- 2. The 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations -- i. Preparation -- ii. The Conference -- iii. From the Vienna Conference to consular relations -- B. Comings-and Goings -- 1. South Africa -- 2. Pakistan -- C. The Commonwealth Secretariat -- D. Meetings of High Commissioners and of Commonwealth Heads of Mission -- E. The Position of High Commissioners -- F. Titular Flexibility-and Orthodoxy.

G. CRO Diplomacy and the Demise of the CRO -- H. Britain and the Décanat -- 1. British high commissioners and the décanat in newly-independent states -- 2. The doyen in London -- I. Australian Sniping -- J. Conclusion -- Chapter Eight. Survival, mid-1970s-2006 -- A. The Position of High Commissioners -- 1. Information sharing and collective meetings -- 2. Relations between individual high commissioners -- 3. High commissioners and the receiving state -- B. The Office and the Commonwealth -- 1. Unexpected applicants-and lost sheep -- i. Return of the prodigal -- ii. The question of Ireland -- 2. A Commonwealth constituency -- C. The Queen as Head of the Commonwealth -- Appendix One. Glossary -- Appendix Two. Commonwealth Members -- Appendix Three. The Growth of Intra-Commonwealth Representation 1880-1957 -- Appendix Four. Relevant Articles from the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic Relations (1961) and on Consular Relations (1963) -- Appendix Five. 'High Commissioner'-A Historical Note -- Bibliography -- Index of Names -- Index of Subjects.