At Antigua summit, king charles and commonwealth leaders discuss slavery legacy amid renewed reparations calls

Summit discussion planned

Charles made the announcement during a speech in the Bahamas on Tuesday, as he began his Caribbean tour. He said Commonwealth leaders would address matters connected to slavery’s legacy at their gathering in Antigua next week.

Remarks draw criticism

Charles spoke of the darkness from which some aspects of Bahamian culture had emerged, while describing that culture as joyful, hopeful and bright. A response in the article rejected the idea that Bahamian culture was born from darkness, and instead described it as shaped by agency and survival.

The response argued that the royal family and British government were responsible for slavery’s harms, and that justice required a full, formal apology and steps to remedy the wrongs. The speaker said the criticism came from pride in the Bahamian people and their hospitality.

Calls for reparations

Prof Hilary Beckles, chair of the Caribbean Community Reparations Commission, said the region was seeking “proprietary justice, beginning with remorse”. The article does not identify the person who made the criticism of Charles’s remarks.

Charles is due to travel to Guyana on Thursday. Guyana’s president, Mohamed Irfaan Ali, recently called on the monarch to take the next step and offer an apology.

A continuing journey

A royal representative described the Caribbean tour as both a new journey and part of a lifelong effort to engage with and understand painful aspects of the past. The representative said that focus would appear in different ways during the visit.