King Charles Faces Caribbean Calls for Reparations as He Begins Regional Tour

King Charles III opened a nine-day Caribbean tour in the Bahamas by recognizing the region’s history of “great suffering and injustices of the past.” His remarks came as pressure grows for Britain to apologize and pay reparations for its part in the transatlantic slave trade. Speaking at a youth rally in Nassau, the 77-year-old monarch said the legacy of slavery would be discussed by Commonwealth leaders at their upcoming biennial summit. The tour is also due to take Charles and Queen Camilla to Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda, where they will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, bringing together leaders from 56 nations. The visit is Charles’s first in the Caribbean since becoming king. The article says Britain forcibly transported an estimated three million people across the Atlantic and into slavery in the Americas. Calls for reparations have gained fresh momentum, with Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Botchwey saying it was time for the issue to be discussed. She said countries had requested the conversation and that the form reparations might take would need to be determined. Caricom, a group of 23 member and associate member states, has also said it will push to put reparations on the summit agenda. Secretary-General Carla Barnett described the issue as one of justice, recognition, accountability and transformation for descendants of enslaved people. Buckingham Palace has said Charles will not issue an apology during the tour, calling such decisions matters for governments. The King acts on the advice of ministers when representing Britain abroad, and the British government has opposed a formal apology. Foreign Office sources cited by CNN said there was no legal case for reparations because slavery was not illegal at the time it was practiced. The Palace said Charles would not avoid acknowledging the darkest parts of the past.