King Charles to tour Caribbean as calls for slavery apology and reparations grow

The tour and its schedule

King Charles is set to begin a Caribbean tour on Tuesday, 27 October, although reports give its length differently: seven days in The New York Times, eight in Le Monde and nine in the Guardian and BFMTV. The king will travel alone to the Bahamas and Guyana, and Queen Camilla is to join him in Antigua and Barbuda. There he will attend the biennial Commonwealth heads of government meeting, which runs from 1 to 4 November and brings together leaders of 56 member countries. The Guardian reports that he is expected to deliver three significant speeches during the trip. Buckingham Palace has said the programme will be oriented toward the present and future of each host country, shaped in close consultation with their governments.

Calls for an apology and reparations

Campaigners have warned that the tour could speed up moves to remove Charles as head of state in several countries unless he does more to confront the monarchy's links to slavery. The Palace has said the visit will address the subject directly.

“The visit programme will therefore not shy away from 'the darkest days of our past', as His Majesty has described them.”

Guyana's president, Irfaan Ali, who is due to meet the king, told ITV News that acknowledging the dark days of colonisation is only a first step, and that an apology should follow. Ali added that the former empire should answer for exploiting the region, destroying lives and creating underdevelopment. In early September the Jamaican government petitioned the king to advance its campaign for reparations for African ancestors who endured centuries of slavery. A UN resolution tabled by Ghana would declare the transatlantic slave trade the gravest crime against humanity and call for reparatory justice.

Hilary Beckles, chairman of the Reparations Commission for CARICOM, told reporters last week:

“We are calling for a dialogue of decency.”

Beckles, who is also vice chancellor of the University of the West Indies, addressed Charles as a parent and grandparent and argued that slavery had enriched his family.

Government position and protests

The Guardian reports that the British government has advised the king not to issue a formal apology for Britain's role in the transatlantic slave trade and has ruled out paying reparations. The Telegraph says activists are planning demonstrations on the streets of Antigua when the monarch arrives for the summit. Patrick Vernon, a cultural historian and UK representative of the Global Jamaica Diaspora Council, said the stakes for the trip could not be higher.

“I think it's the biggest crossroads for the Commonwealth since its creation.”

Anthony Seldon, an author and historian speaking to BBC News, described the questions of slavery, reparations and apology as the greatest challenge of the king's reign so far. The Jamaican petition is due to be heard by the UK-based privy council in March 2027.

Background to the Commonwealth

The Commonwealth emerged as the British Empire broke up. According to The New York Times, its roots lie in the 1926 Imperial Conference, where ruled nations and semi-independent ones declared themselves equals while still owing allegiance to the British monarch. The modern body dates to a 1949 meeting in London that opened membership to any country, including those that no longer pledged allegiance to the crown. Under the London Declaration, members choose the head of the Commonwealth, though its first leader was King George VI, Charles's grandfather. Four of the 56 members, Mozambique, Rwanda, Gabon and Togo, were never connected to the British Empire. Historian Ed Owens, also cited by The New York Times, noted that about three million enslaved Africans were trafficked on British ships across the Atlantic in the 1700s and 1800s, and that attempted revolts were crushed.