King Charles confirms he will discuss legacy of slavery at Commonwealth summit

Royal tour of Caribbean comes as Commonwealth nations renew calls for Britain to engage in reparation talks

King Charles has confirmed that he will discuss the legacy of slavery at a summit with Commonwealth leaders as he begins his Caribbean tour.

The king arrived in the Bahamas to a ceremonial welcome and attended a youth rally at Clifford Park, the site where the country officially gained its independence from British colonial rule in 1973.

His visit comes amid renewed calls from Caribbean nations for Britain to apologise for the atrocities of transatlantic slavery and engage in reparations talks.

Charles’s nine-day tour, which includes a solo state visit to Guyana, will culminate in presiding over the Commonwealth heads of government meeting (Chogm) hosted by Antigua and Barbuda.

In his speech in the Bahamas on Tuesday, Charles told young people and guests: “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 said the Chogm leaders would discuss matters relating to the legacy of slavery next week in Antigua.

But a statement from the Bahamas National Reparations Committee said the king’s comments on Tuesday “fall short of what justice requires”.

“Our culture is not 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.