King Charles begins Caribbean tour amid calls for a slavery apology

Mixed · 2King Charles began an eight-day Caribbean tour on 27 October, visiting The Bahamas, Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda, where he will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. 1 2 Mixed · 2Campaigners, politicians and a head of state are calling for a formal apology for Britain's role in the slave trade, and for reparations. 1 2 Left · 1Buckingham Palace has said neither is expected. A spokesman said apology and reparations were "primarily matters for Governments to address", and that the King acts on his government's advice. The Foreign Office said the government "will not pay financial reparations". 1

Mixed · 2The Daily Mail's Robert Hardman writes that Andy Burnham will advise the King not to apologise. The Mirror says aides expect Charles to use the tour to listen, reflect and acknowledge what he has called "the darkest days of our past", with the programme focused mainly on each country's present and future. 2 1 Left · 1In The Bahamas, where Charles is head of state, the National Reparations Committee wants a formal apology. Its chair, Dr Niambi Hall Campbell-Dean, told the Mirror that anything less "will be a stain on his legacy". A Rastafari group plans a rally and a petition, and former cabinet minister Leslie Miller says he will boycott events involving the King. Prime Minister Philip Davis has called for "real dialogue" on reparations. 1 Mixed · 2In Guyana, President Irfaan Ali has called for a formal apology. The Mirror reports he wants reparations through debt relief, concessional financing and investment rather than a cheque, and says the visit will "not be defined" by reparations. The Mail quotes him as saying "Moving to the apology is the next step." 1 2

Mixed · 2Antigua's Prime Minister Gaston Browne, who hosts the summit, wants reparations high on the agenda. Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Botchwey told Sky News, as the Mail reports, that an apology "wouldn't hurt". The Mirror adds that there is reported wrangling over how reparations will be worded in the summit communiqué. 2 1 Left · 1Jamaica has petitioned the King to refer questions over the lawfulness of slavery to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Charles passed the petition on, and a hearing is provisionally set for March, according to the Mirror. 1 Right · 1The Mail's column says an apology would be a "cliff-edge moment" that could trigger legal claims of up to £18 trillion, and warns of a constitutional crisis if a realm's prime minister formally advised the King to apologise. It also notes the Church of England's £100 million "Project Spire" pledge, which is contested by some clergy in a legal challenge. 2

Left · 1The Mirror recalls that Prince William and Catherine's 2022 Caribbean tour was widely criticised, and that Charles told leaders at the last Commonwealth summit in Samoa that the past "continues to resonate". 1