King Charles arrives in the Bahamas as he kicks off Caribbean tour amid demands from Commonwealth nations for slavery reparations

The King received a warm welcome in the Bahamas tonight ahead of what could prove to be a bumpy autumn royal tour.

With growing demands for a formal apology and reparations for Britain’s role in the historic transatlantic slave trade, Charles, 77, arrived in the capital, Nassau, where he was given a full ceremonial welcome as head of state.

Stepping off the British government’s official Voyager plane, His Majesty looked sprightly and smiling, dressed in a beige summer suit, tie and sunglasses, as he walked down the steps to be greeted at Lynden Pindling International Airport by a selection of dignitaries.

After disembarking, the King took his place on a dais, where 96 members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force had formed an impressive Guard of Honour and extended a Royal Salute.

Bands from the forces played the National Anthem of The Bahamas, after which The King inspected the Guard of Honour, before getting into his official car – winding down the window and waving at media and onlookers.

The King will address the thorny issue of slavery and reparations within hours of landing on the potentially explosive Caribbean tour, saying: ‘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.’

Although he will stop short of offering an apology or financial compensation in line with government policy, aides say His Majesty will ‘not shy away’ from addressing the growing clamour that threatens to overshadow his visit to The Bahamas, Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda.

Whether it will be enough remains to be seen, with The Bahamas National Reparations Committee having already warned him: ‘Don’t come empty handed.’

Tonight the 77-year-old monarch arrived in its capital Nassau at the start of the eight-day trip at the request of the British government, stepping off its official UK-branded Voyager plane.

He was in good spirits despite the 10-hour flight – having spent most of it working on his papers and speeches – and plunged immediately into a series of public engagements.

Charles will be joined later in the week by the Queen.

Buckingham Palace insists that His Majesty is ‘alive’ to the local strength of feeling, particularly given his role both as Head of the Commonwealth and as monarch in two of the countries he is visiting this week, The Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda, where calls for action have been growing. ‘His Majesty will as usual not seek to ignore the past,’ an aide said.

As a result, he will tackle the ‘backdrop of wider discussions on colonial legacy’ head-on in a number of his speeches, as well as visiting sites with particular links to the practice.

But he will continue to be mindful of the British government’s firm line on the matter which, while acknowledging the ‘abhorrence’ of the historic transatlantic slave trade and its legacy that endures today, firmly rejects demands for compensation as it was not illegal at the time.

Any official apology from the King could be seen as opening the floodgates to billions in claims against the UK.

On his second engagement of the visit, Charles spoke directly to the issue as he attended a youth rally at the very location where he personally marked the celebration of Bahamian independence from the United Kingdom in 1973, when he delivered a message from Queen Elizabeth.

In a speech reflecting on shared history, while looking to the positive future of young Bahamians, he will highlight how ‘some of what is best in Bahamian culture today – the most joyful, the most hopeful, the most bright – was born out of darkness’.

Highlighting the traditional Junkanoo, a carnival-style street parade, which in itself has historical roots among what were enslaved people and is now a source of great cultural pride and competition, he will say that ‘each of these groups is a living witness to the way Bahamian culture has been passed down from one generation to the next, each generation not only incorporating but magnifying – and sometimes transforming – that which has come before’.

The King is expected to add: ‘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.’

His Majesty will also make clear that leaders attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua this week will discuss the issue of slavery and reparations, as will he in his opening address.

But he will add that ‘tonight it gives me enormous hope to see the way generations of Bahamians have carried the history, the legacy and the promise bequeathed to you by your ancestors, with pride in your hearts and purpose in your steps’, adding: ‘You have not only carried their legacy, you have nurtured and enhanced it, creatively and courageously, and we have seen tonight what a wonderful gift it is, to The Bahamas and to the world’.

Charles had earlier been welcomed to The Bahamas at Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau by a host of dignitaries including Acting Chief of Protocol, Celeste Evans-Williams, Governor-General Dame Cynthia-Pratt and Prime Minister Philip E. Davis.

He was due to ascend a dais to view a 96-strong Guard of Honour comprised of the Royal Bahamas Police Force and the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, who will extend a Royal Salute.

The police and defence force bands will play the Bahamian National Anthem before Charles inspects the troops.

He will spend two nights in the country before moving on to Guyana for a brief State Visit and then finally arriving in Antigua and Barbuda, another Caribbean nation where he remains King, on Friday for CHOGM.

The King will be joined there by British Prime Minister Andy Burnham for their first joint foreign outing.

It is also Charles’ first tour of the Caribbean since acceding the throne and he is said to be mindful of recent tours by the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh to the region, which were beset by difficulties and, in some cases, outright disaster.

Photographs of William and Catherine in 2022 shaking hands with children through a fence in Kingston, Jamaica, and riding in a 1950s Jeep, sparked a wave of criticism and accusations of neo-colonialism.

The optics of the trip deeply concerned William – then the Duke of Cambridge – who spoke openly afterwards of his determination to learn from the experience and of his expectation that he will not inherit his father’s position as Head of the Commonwealth.

Kensington Palace told the Mail this week that the prince’s view hasn’t changed now that he is Prince of Wales.

In September, Jamaica took the unusual step of asking King Charles to refer the UK’s involvement in slavery to the judicial committee of the privy council, the final court of appeal in London for some Commonwealth Realms – bringing the issue firmly to Britain’s door.

Even the secretary-general of the Commonwealth, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, said last week that an apology for slavery ‘wouldn’t hurt’ and that the ‘time had come’ for a discussion about reparations.

Asked whether Charles should apologise, she told Sky News: ‘It wouldn’t hurt to have that [an apology]. Not at all,’ adding on the issue of compensation: ‘I don’t believe we can run away from it.’

Her comments will inevitably heap greater pressure on the King as head of the 56-strong ‘family of nations’, as he navigates a diplomatic tightrope between Commonwealth nations – the majority of which are former British colonies – and the UK government.

Buckingham Palace has stressed the way in which King Charles has, over the years, led from the front for the Royal Family on the issue, acknowledging the wrongs of the past and creating organisations such as The King’s Trust International to create better education and employment opportunities, particularly in developing nations.

The King also has many friends in the region, including President Irfaan Ali of Guyana, who, while being an outspoken advocate for reparations – accusing Britain of exploitation, destroying lives and the creation of underdevelopment in the region for personal gain – is such a fan of Charles’ environmental work that he offered to appear in a recent Amazon documentary about him singing his praises.

They are hopeful that warmth will help avoid awkward public moments, leaving difficult subject matter to be discussed behind the scenes.

The King’s supporters also point to his hugely successful State Visit to the USA earlier this year.

‘He is a lifelong statesman and diplomat, with a sensitive political antenna, and is uniquely placed to deal with the challenges ahead,’ a source said.

A spokesman for the King made clear he would face ‘the most shameful aspects of our past’.

They said: ‘At the request of host Governments, the King’s programme will primarily focus on shining a light on the many modern partnerships and opportunities for the future that are having a transformative effect on the region, as it confronts the challenges of today.

‘For His Majesty, this tour is 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. This will therefore also be reflected in differing ways and words during the tour, as you would expect.’