hamas, Tuesday
King Charles had arrived in the Caribbean for a nine-day tour that ended with him presiding over a gathering of Commonwealth leaders, and he had confirmed that the legacy of slavery would be discussed there. On Tuesday he reached the Bahamas to a ceremonial welcome and attended a youth rally at Clifford Park, where the country formally gained independence from Britain in 1973. His arrival coincides with intensifying pressure from Caribbean leaders for a British apology and a structured dialogue on reparations, and with a poll suggesting that younger Britons are receptive to the idea. The tour thus puts the monarchy in an awkward position: it is being asked to answer for a history that its own government has not chosen to address in the way many in the region demand.
In his first speech in the Bahamas, Charles said: “Some of what is best in Bahamian culture today, the most joyful, the most hopeful, the most bright, was born out of darkness. It is only right that we should acknowledge the great suffering of the past in these islands and beyond, even as we rejoice in the successes of the present and build new opportunities for the future.”
He also said that leaders at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting (Chogm) would discuss matters relating to the legacy of slavery in Antigua. The tour included a solo state visit to Guyana and ended with the king presiding over the Chogm gathering, hosted by Antigua and Barbuda.
The words follow a trajectory. In 2021, at the ceremony marking Barbados’s transition to a republic, Charles called slavery an “appalling atrocity” that “forever stains our history.” A year later, at the opening of a Commonwealth summit hosted by Rwanda, he said he was on a personal journey and would continue to “deepen my own understanding of slavery’s enduring impact.” The Bahamas speech is a continuation of that language, acknowledging suffering without offering an apology or committing to reparations.
The reason for this restraint is not primarily personal. The king follows the guidance of his ministers, and it is understood that the British government has not advised him to offer an apology or reparations, in keeping with established policy. This is a defining feature of the situation: the monarch’s room to speak on a politically charged question is set by the elected government. The prime minister, Andy Burnham, and the foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, joined Charles in Antigua, which means that the government’s position was visible in the same room.
The Buckingham Palace statement reflects the constraint. It says the programme will, at the request of host governments, “primarily focus on shining a light on the many modern partnerships and opportunities for the future.” It describes the tour as “both a new journey but also the continuance of a lifelong one, in which he has sought to engage, understand and educate about the most shameful aspects of our past,” and adds that this “will therefore also be reflected in differing ways and words during the tour.” The wording leaves open further statements while signalling that the emphasis will be on the present.
The speech drew a rapid response. The Bahamas National Reparations Committee said the king’s comments “fall short of what justice requires.” Its statement objected to the idea that Bahamian culture was “born out of darkness”: “Our culture was born out of agency and out of the will to survive despite the horrors, trauma and degradation. Our culture is a testament to the power of the human spirit, not simply a reaction to the worst examples of it.” It added that Bahamians do not need the king to tell them their culture is outstanding, but “need him to speak about his role in the darkness and how he plans to atone for it actively.” The committee demanded a “full and formal apology” and steps to remedy the wrongs committed in the name of the crown.
Its chair, Dr Niambi Hall Campbell-Dean, said she appreciated the attempt to connect with Bahamian culture but that the words felt “like hollow platitudes.” She stressed that her criticism came from pride: “We deserve so much more than what was offered.”
The former prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, an elder of the Repair Campaign, described the speech as “falling far short of what he had said before.” Professor Hilary Beckles, chair of the Caribbean Community Reparations Commission, said the region seeks “proprietary justice, beginning with remorse,” and that the king should “dig deep within his consciousness” when speaking to young people. Anything less, he said, would condone and minimise the legacy of harm that continues today.
to be continued
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