King Charles III began a nine-day Caribbean tour in the Bahamas on October 27. He goes on to Guyana and then to Antigua and Barbuda, where he attends the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) from November 1 to 4. Protests and demands for a formal apology and reparations over the British monarchy's role in the transatlantic slave trade have followed him, from campaigners and from leaders such as Guyana's President Irfaan Ali. Jamaica's $10 billion reparations petition to the King is due before the Privy Council next March.
In his first speech in the Bahamas, the King acknowledged "the great suffering of the past" and said Commonwealth leaders would discuss the legacy of slavery at the summit. The Bahamas National Reparations Committee said his words fell short of what justice requires. The British government has ruled out reparations, and the King, who acts on government advice, is not expected to apologise during the tour. Officials in the Bahamas and in Antigua and Barbuda have signalled that they want to become republics.
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King Charles III is on a nine-day Caribbean tour that began on October 27, facing protests and calls for a formal apology and reparations over the British monarchy's role in slavery.
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