The King received a warm welcome in The Bahamas tonight as he began an autumn royal tour expected to face difficult questions over Britain’s historic role in the transatlantic slave trade.
Amid mounting calls for a formal apology and reparations, 77-year-old Charles arrived in the capital, Nassau, where he was greeted with a full ceremonial welcome in his role as head of state.
Stepping from the British government’s official Voyager aircraft, His Majesty appeared cheerful and energetic. Wearing a beige summer suit, tie and sunglasses, he walked down the aircraft steps to meet dignitaries at Lynden Pindling International Airport.
The King then took his position on a dais as 96 personnel from the Royal Bahamas Police Force and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force formed a Guard of Honour and presented a Royal Salute.
Military bands played the National Anthem of The Bahamas before Charles inspected the Guard of Honour. He later climbed into his official car, lowered the window and waved to journalists and members of the public.
Within hours of arriving for the potentially explosive Caribbean tour, the King will address the contentious debate over slavery and reparations. He is expected to say: ‘It is only right that we should acknowledge the great suffering of the past, in these islands and beyond, even as we rejoice in the successes of the present and build new opportunities for the future.’
Although government policy means he will stop short of offering an apology or financial compensation, aides say His Majesty will ‘not shy away’ from the growing calls for action that risk overshadowing his visits to The Bahamas, Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda.
King Charles arrives at Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau, The Bahamas, during his autumn tour of Caribbean nations
His Majesty meets Philip Davis, Prime Minister of The Bahamas, after landing in Nassau
Whether the King’s approach will satisfy critics remains uncertain. The Bahamas National Reparations Committee has already issued a blunt warning: ‘Don’t come empty handed.’
Tonight the 77-year-old monarch arrived in Nassau at the start of an eight-day tour requested by the British government, stepping off its official UK-branded Voyager aircraft.
Despite the 10-hour flight, Charles appeared in good spirits. He spent much of the journey working on his papers and speeches before immediately beginning a series of public engagements.
The Queen is due to join Charles later in the week.
Buckingham Palace says His Majesty is ‘alive’ to the strength of local feeling, particularly because he is Head of the Commonwealth and monarch of two countries on this week’s itinerary: The Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda. In both nations, calls for action over slavery and its legacy have intensified. ‘His Majesty will as usual not seek to ignore the past,’ an aide said.
Against that backdrop, Charles will address the ‘backdrop of wider discussions on colonial legacy’ directly in several speeches and visit locations with significant links to the history of slavery.
At the same time, he will remain mindful of the British government’s firm position. While ministers acknowledge the ‘abhorrence’ of the historic transatlantic slave trade and its continuing legacy, they reject demands for compensation, arguing that the trade was not illegal at the time.
A formal apology from the King could also be interpreted as opening the door to billions of pounds in compensation claims against the UK.
During his second engagement, Charles addressed the issue at a youth rally held at the same location where he represented Queen Elizabeth at celebrations marking Bahamian independence from the United Kingdom in 1973.
Reflecting on the nations’ shared history while focusing on the future of young Bahamians, he will emphasise how ‘some of what is best in Bahamian culture today – the most joyful, the most hopeful, the most bright – was born out of darkness’.
He will also highlight Junkanoo, the carnival-style street parade with historical roots among enslaved people that has become a major source of cultural pride and competition. He is expected to say that ‘each of these groups is a living witness to the way Bahamian culture has been passed down from one generation to the next, each generation not only incorporating but magnifying – and sometimes transforming – that which has come before’.
The King is expected to add: ‘It is only right that we should acknowledge the great suffering of the past, in these islands and beyond, even as we rejoice in the successes of the present and build new opportunities for the future.’
His Majesty will also make clear that leaders attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua this week will discuss the issue of slavery and reparations, as will he in his opening address.
But he will add that ‘tonight it gives me enormous hope to see the way generations of Bahamians have carried the history, the legacy and the promise bequeathed to you by your ancestors, with pride in your hearts and purpose in your steps’, adding: ‘You have not only carried their legacy, you have nurtured and enhanced it, creatively and courageously, and we have seen tonight what a wonderful gift it is, to The Bahamas and to the world’.
Charles had earlier been welcomed to The Bahamas at Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau by a host of dignitaries including Acting Chief of Protocol, Celeste Evans-Williams, Governor-General Dame Cynthia-Pratt and Prime Minister Philip E. Davis.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: DOJ: Hundreds of Staged Robberies Fueled U.S. Immigration Scam
A guard of honour was in place to welcome the monarch ahead of his arrival
His Majesty inspects the guard of honour, made up of members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force
He was due to ascend a dais to view a 96-strong Guard of Honour comprised of the Royal Bahamas Police Force and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, who will extend a Royal Salute.
The police and defence force bands will play the Bahamian National Anthem before Charles inspects the troops.
He will spend two nights in the country before moving on to Guyana for a brief State Visit and then finally arriving in Antigua and Barbuda, another Caribbean nation where he remains King, on Friday for CHOGM.
The King will be joined there by British Prime Minister Andy Burnham for their first joint foreign outing.
It is also Charles’ first tour of the Caribbean since acceding the throne and he is said to be mindful of recent tours by the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh to the region, which were beset by difficulties and, in some cases, outright disaster.
Photographs of William and Catherine in 2022 shaking hands with children through a fence in Kingston, Jamaica, and riding in a 1950s Jeep, sparked a wave of criticism and accusations of neo-colonialism.
The optics of the trip deeply concerned William – then the Duke of Cambridge – who spoke openly afterwards of his determination to learn from the experience and of his expectation that he will not inherit his father’s position as Head of the Commonwealth.
Kensington Palace told the Mail this week that the prince’s view hasn’t changed now that he is Prince of Wales.
In September, Jamaica took the unusual step of asking King Charles to refer the UK’s involvement in slavery to the judicial committee of the privy council, the final court of appeal in London for some Commonwealth Realms – bringing the issue firmly to Britain’s door.
Even the secretary-general of the Commonwealth, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, said last week that an apology for slavery ‘wouldn’t hurt’ and that the ‘time had come’ for a discussion about reparations.
Asked whether Charles should apologise, she told Sky News: ‘It wouldn’t hurt to have that [an apology]. Not at all,’ adding on the issue of compensation: ‘I don’t believe we can run away from it.’
Her comments will inevitably heap greater pressure on the King as head of the 56-strong ‘family of nations’, as he navigates a diplomatic tightrope between Commonwealth nations – the majority of which are former British colonies – and the UK government.
Buckingham Palace has stressed the way in which King Charles has, over the years, led from the front for the Royal Family on the issue, acknowledging the wrongs of the past and creating organisations such as The King’s Trust International to create better education and employment opportunities, particularly in developing nations.
The 77-year-old monarch arrived Nassau at the start of the politically sensitive eight-day trip at the request of the British government
The King also has many friends in the region, including President Irfaan Ali of Guyana, who, while being an outspoken advocate for reparations – accusing Britain of exploitation, destroying lives and the creation of underdevelopment in the region for personal gain – is such a fan of Charles’ environmental work that he offered to appear in a recent Amazon documentary about him singing his praises.
They are hopeful that warmth will help avoid awkward public moments, leaving difficult subject matter to be discussed behind the scenes.
The King’s supporters also point to his hugely successful State Visit to the USA earlier this year.
‘He is a lifelong statesman and diplomat, with a sensitive political antenna, and is uniquely placed to deal with the challenges ahead,’ a source said.
A spokesman for the King made clear he would face ‘the most shameful aspects of our past’.
They said: ‘At the request of host Governments, the King’s programme will primarily focus on shining a light on the many modern partnerships and opportunities for the future that are having a transformative effect on the region, as it confronts the challenges of today.
‘For His Majesty, this tour is both a new journey but also the continuance of a lifelong one, in which he has sought to engage, understand and educate about the most shameful aspects of our past. This will therefore also be reflected in differing ways and words during the tour, as you would expect.’
EXPLORE MORE: Heartbreaking Final Tribute for 24-Year-Old Killed by Father