King Charles is set to embrace the vibrant spirit of the Bahamas today, beginning the first full day of his Caribbean tour after confronting the sensitive legacy of slavery.
The 77-year-old monarch faces a busy schedule running from morning until evening, with the main attraction expected to be a colourful junkanoo parade through Nassau’s streets.
Hundreds of performers will welcome the King with traditional music, dancing and elaborate costumes as part of his official visit to the Caribbean nation, where he remains head of state.
His programme began on a more solemn note with a visit to the Royal Bahamas Defence Force base at Coral Harbour, one of six official engagements planned for the day.
The visit is intended to recognise the work of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, with military personnel forming a ceremonial line along the route outside the main entrance.
King Charles will be welcomed by Commander Defence Force Commodore Floyd Moxey and other senior dignitaries.
Standing beneath the bright Bahamian sun on a ceremonial dais, His Majesty will receive a Royal Salute from a Guard of Honour and Colour Party made up of 106 officers and marines. The band will then perform a Royal Fanfare and the national anthem of The Bahamas before the King inspects the Royal Guard.
He will also view a commemorative plaque marking his visit, alongside Coronation Medals due to be presented to Royal Bahamas Defence Force personnel at a later date.
King Charles smiles at the Royal Bahamas Defence Force Coral Harbour Base during his visit to The Bahamas
Charles shakes hands with dignitaries at the Royal Bahamas Defence Force Coral Harbour Base during his visit to The Bahamas
King Charles inspects the Guard of Honour at the Royal Bahamas Defence Force Coral Harbour Base
The King received a Royal Salute from the Guard of Honour and Colour Party, formed by 106 Officers and Marines
At the Flamingo Monument, the King will lay a wreath in memory of the four Bahamian marines who died when HMBS Flamingo sank on May 10, 1980.
The vessel went down after being attacked by Cuban MiG fighter aircraft. Marines Fenrick Sturrup, Austin Smith, David Tucker and Edward Williams were killed in the incident.
King Charles will meet relatives of all four men, as well as surviving crew member Force Chief Petty Officer Gregory Curry.
Before departing the base, His Majesty will visit HMBS Lawrence Major, a 56-metre roll-on/roll-off vessel primarily used to respond to natural disasters.
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He will meet the ship’s commanding officer, Commander Alexis Brown, and board the vessel to speak with members of the Ship’s Company, the Disaster Risk Management Unit, retired Defence Force personnel, the RBDF Rangers Youth Programme, Bahamas National Youth Guards, RBDF veterans, officers, warrant officers, senior rates and marines.
The King will later visit conservation initiatives at Bonefish Pond National Park, where the focus will be on environmental restoration and climate resilience in vulnerable areas of the Bahamas.
He will take part in the first of two tree-planting ceremonies planned for the day before travelling to The Bahamas Boxing Academy, which creates opportunities for young people through sport.
This afternoon, Prime Minister Philip Davis will welcome the King at the House of Assembly on Parliament Square, marking the second major meet-and-greet of the tour. Charles will also speak with Bahamian students taking part in building programmes run by his King’s Foundation ahead of the junkanoo parade.
The day will conclude with a garden reception at Government House, where the monarch is expected to meet Bahamians who have made notable contributions to the country.
Members of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force line up ahead of the arrival of King Charles at Coral Harbour Base
King Charles is undertaking a nine-day Caribbean tour at the request of the British government, visiting the Bahamas, Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda. He will be joined by Prime Minister Andy Burnham in Antigua and Barbuda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
The tour has been overshadowed by calls from campaigners for the British government to issue a formal apology for its role in the transatlantic slave trade and to provide reparations.
The King, who acts on the advice of his ministers, addressed the issue within hours of arriving on Tuesday evening, saying: “It is only right that we should acknowledge the great suffering of the past, in these islands and beyond.”
He did not offer an apology or financial compensation, in keeping with the government’s position. However, aides have said His Majesty will not avoid the growing calls for action that risk dominating his visits to the Bahamas, Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda.
A spokesman for the King said he would confront “the most shameful aspects of our past”.
Whether that approach will satisfy campaigners remains uncertain. The Bahamas National Reparations Committee has already issued a warning: “Don’t come empty-handed.”
Buckingham Palace says the King is fully aware of the strength of feeling in the region, particularly because he is both Head of the Commonwealth and monarch of two countries on the itinerary: the Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda. Calls for Britain to take action have intensified in both nations. “His Majesty will as usual not seek to ignore the past,” one aide said.
Against that backdrop, Charles is expected to address the wider debate over the colonial legacy in several speeches and visit locations connected to the history of slavery.
At the same time, he will remain conscious of the British government’s firm position. Ministers have acknowledged the “abhorrence” of the historic transatlantic slave trade and its continuing consequences, but reject demands for compensation on the grounds that the trade was not illegal at the time.
A formal apology from the King could also be interpreted as opening the way to billions of pounds in compensation claims against the United Kingdom.
