King Charles travels to Caribbean as colonial wounds remain open King Charles III and Queen Camilla begin a nine-day tour of the Caribbean on October 27, visiting the Bahamas and Guyana before a Commonwealth summit in Antigua and Barbuda, as the former British colonies step up demands for Britain to confront the legacy of slavery. With Buckingham Palace earlier ruling out a formal apology, Caribbean leaders are now pressing Britain on several fronts: Reparations: CARICOM, a regional bloc representing Caribbean island nations, wants reparations on the Commonwealth summit agenda, from financial compensation to the return of cultural artifacts Political independence: The Bahamas remains a constitutional monarchy despite gaining independence in 1973, while Jamaica pursues reparations and moves towards becoming a republic Indigenous rights: In Guyana, community leaders raise concerns about land disputes and their lack of representation in decisions affecting their communities For some, the visit raises a deeper question: Why does the British monarch still hold such a prominent place in the region? "Why do we still have a king? What does this person really represent to us? asked Nimby Hall Campbell-Dean, chairman of the Bahamas National Compensation Commission. CARICOM Secretary-General Carla Barnett, meanwhile, described the reparations as something that is "fundamentally just" and building a "just and equitable future" for the descendants of those who suffered from colonial enslavement. substack | talk.

King Charles travels to Caribbean as colonial wounds remain open King Charles III and Queen Camilla begin a nine-day tour of the Caribbean on October 27, visiting the Bahamas and Guyana before a Commonwealth summit in Antigua and Barbuda, as the former British colonies step up demands for Britain to confront the legacy of slavery. With Buckingham Palace earlier ruling out a formal apology, Caribbean leaders are now pressing Britain on several fronts: Reparations: CARICOM, a regional bloc representing Caribbean island nations, wants reparations on the Commonwealth summit agenda, from financial compensation to the return of cultural artifacts Political independence: The Bahamas remains a constitutional monarchy despite gaining independence in 1973, while Jamaica pursues reparations and moves towards becoming a republic Indigenous rights: In Guyana, community leaders raise concerns about land disputes and their lack of representation in decisions affecting their communities For some, the visit raises a deeper question: Why does the British monarch still hold such a prominent place in the region? "Why do we still have a king? What does this person really represent to us? asked Nimby Hall Campbell-Dean, chairman of the Bahamas National Compensation Commission. CARICOM Secretary-General Carla Barnett, meanwhile, described the reparations as something that is "fundamentally just" and building a "just and equitable future" for the descendants of those who suffered from colonial enslavement. substack | talk.