King Charles III has begun a nine-day Caribbean tour in the Bahamas, amid growing calls for a British apology and reparations for the slave trade. The British government has ruled out both a formal apology and reparations, according to MercoPress, and Buckingham Palace says the King will follow that line.
The King arrived in the Bahamas on a Tuesday, according to MercoPress. It is his first tour of the region since he acceded to the throne in 2022.
The tour also takes Charles to Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda, where he will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, according to MercoPress. In Nassau, Euronews reports, the King danced to the Junkanoo festival parade and then met market vendors in Parliament Square. MercoPress reports that Rastafarian groups protested during the visit in Nassau.
Aides say the King, who will give three speeches during the tour, "will not shy away" from the subject of slavery, according to MercoPress. MercoPress also reports that Charles has expressed "personal sorrow" over the monarchy’s historical links to slavery, going further than his predecessors.
The Bahamas gained independence from Britain in 1973 but remains a Commonwealth realm with Charles III as head of state, according to Euronews.
The wider debate is also moving. Jamaica has filed a reparations petition that the Privy Council will examine in March. Ghana has promoted a UN resolution calling the transatlantic slave trade the gravest crime against humanity.
Next, the King attends an audience and reception in Guyana with President Irfaan Ali, who has said his country deserves an apology. The visit marks 60 years of bilateral relations.
Several gaps remain. The key facts rest largely on MercoPress, and the Palace’s stated position has not been independently confirmed beyond that report. Africanews was available only as a headline and short excerpt, so its account is limited. The sources do not give the exact date of the Bahamas arrival, and they include no response from the Bahamian government or the Commonwealth Secretary-General to the protests.
Sources
This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.