King Charles III and Queen Camilla are preparing for a Caribbean tour this week, and many people in the region say they intend to be heard. Islanders are seeking slavery reparations from Britain, a formal apology for its part in the slave trade and more independence from the former colonial power.
The Bahamas National Reparations Committee has already described what it expects to see. In its words, there will be "schools emptied of children who will stand in the sun and wave for the Crown that has taken everything from their ancestors and comes back smiling."
The nine-day trip begins in the Bahamas on Tuesday. Charles last made an official visit to the archipelago in July 1973, when, as a prince, he granted the country independence and ended 300 years of British rule. The Bahamas is still a Commonwealth realm, one of seven Caribbean nations that recognize Charles as king and head of state. He is scheduled to visit Clifford Park, where the black, turquoise and yellow national flag was first raised more than 50 years ago.
Niambi Hall Campbell-Dean, chair of the reparations committee, said the visit raises basic questions. "Why do we still have a king? What does this person really represent to us? Why is he coming and how will that benefit us?" she asked. A psychology professor at the University of the Bahamas, she said her students were not excited when she brought up the trip.
Pressure for an apology and reparations has been building across the region. In early September, Jamaica took its reparations case to Charles, and it has since been referred to the United Kingdom's highest court of appeal for the island. The step was an unprecedented legal maneuver, although the British government has consistently rejected demands for an apology or reparations.
After three days in the Bahamas, Charles is due to travel to Guyana, where the 1823 Demerara rebellion, one of the largest slave revolts in the region, took place on a plantation owned by the father of former British Prime Minister William Gladstone. More than 200 enslaved people were killed, and several were decapitated, with their heads placed on poles. Guyanese President Irfaan Ali told ITV News that Charles has "rightfully recognized slavery as the darkest days in human history," adding that "moving to the apology is the next step."
Charles is expected to meet Ali and elected Amerindian village leaders known as toshaos. Nikita Miller, toshao of Chinese Landing in northern Guyana, said she was not invited. Her community has been locked in a decades-long land dispute with miners seeking gold, and she said she wanted to raise an issue that affects other toshaos too. She believes the visit may help Guyana overall, but not Amerindian villages.
After two days in Guyana, Charles will go on to Antigua and Barbuda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, where he will meet leaders of 56 member states. Climate, trade and development are expected to dominate the agenda, though some Caribbean leaders say reparations should take center stage.
Jamaica is not on the itinerary, despite a long history of royal visits. Jamaica has been pushing to remove Charles as head of state and become a republic, as Barbados did in 2021. Rastafarian Steven Bennett, 51, said Charles has "no business here" until he apologizes, while student Antonio Williams, 25, said a visit would be "incredibly awkward." Retired civil servant Hermine Reid, 68, recalled Queen Elizabeth II's visits fondly and said it is sad to see the relationship fracture, but that "Jamaica is growing up and charting its own course."
