King Charles warned failure to apologise for slavery will be 'stain upon legacy' ahead of Caribbean tour

The King will tomorrow embark on one of the most delicate overseas tours of his reign, as he prepares to face down mounting calls to apologise for Britain’s role in the slave trade. Charles, 77, flies to the Caribbean for an eight-day visit taking in The Bahamas, Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda, where he will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. But the monarch will be met by a chorus of demands from campaigners, politicians and even a head of state for a formal apology and reparations. Buckingham Palace has already made clear that neither will be forthcoming. The King acts on the advice of his ministers, and the Government has not advised him to apologise. The Foreign Office said: "The Government has been clear that it will not pay financial reparations." Instead, aides say he will use the tour to listen, reflect and acknowledge what he has previously called "the darkest days of our past". The first test comes on Tuesday when he lands in Nassau. The Bahamas, where Charles remains head of state, has been the scene of some of the fiercest criticism ahead of the visit. The Bahamas National Reparations Committee has warned the King not to arrive "empty-handed" and wants a formal apology for the Crown’s links to slavery and colonialism. Its chair, Dr Niambi Hall Campbell-Dean, told The Mirror: "For [King Charles] to come to our island and not be prepared to apologise for the wrongs of the past is unacceptable." The committee, which is also pushing for The Bahamas to become a republic, plans to invite the King to a meeting. It has urged him to visit Clifton Heritage Park to "feel the spaces in which our ancestors toiled". Charles, who continues to receive treatment for cancer, does intend to participate in moments of reflection throughout his visits, but Dr Campbell-Dean said: "It is not good enough. The people have spoken and anything less than an apology from the King will be a stain on his legacy." The last major royal tour by members of the royal family ended in disaster, when the then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge travelled to Belize, Jamaica and The Bahamas in 2022. William and Kate were roundly criticised for the tour symbolising a "relic of Britain's colonial past" by anti-monarchy campaigners. Prince William delivered an unprecedented statement at the end of the tour, addressing the future of the Commonwealth and acknowledging growing republican sentiment. William acknowledged that the tour brought "into even sharper focus questions about the past and the future". A Rastafari group led by High Priest Richmond McKinney, of the Ethiopia Africa Black International Congress, is planning a rally during the King's Bahamas visit this weekl. It intends to hand Charles a petition calling for an apology, reparations and greater independence from Britain. Former Bahamian cabinet minister Leslie Miller has said he will not attend any event involving the King because of Britain’s refusal to say sorry. Prime Minister Philip Davis has previously said the time has come for "real dialogue" on reparations, insisting it was "not just about an apology" and "not about money". From Nassau, the King travels on Thursday to Guyana for a state visit marking 60 years of diplomatic relations, where the pressure will come from the very top. President Irfaan Ali used an interview with ITV News last week to call for a formal apology and reparatory justice, describing slavery as "the worst indignity to humankind". But Mr Ali, who regards the King as a friend of Guyana, struck a more measured tone than some campaigners. He said reparations should come through debt relief, concessional financing and investment rather than a cheque from Britain, adding: "This is not payback. It is not charity." He also said the visit would "not be defined" by reparations and promised the King a warm welcome. Eric Phillips, who chairs the Guyana Reparations Commission, was more blunt. He said: "The people in the UK say 'Long live the King', we in Guyana say 'Long live the King so that he can apologise and call for reparations'." The tour ends in Antigua, where the Queen will join him for the summit from November 1. Caribbean leaders agreed in July that reparations should have a prominent presence at the gathering, and host Prime Minister Gaston Browne has called for the Commonwealth to set up a framework to resolve the issue. Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, chair of the CARICOM Reparations Commission, has made a personal appeal to the King to support efforts to address the legacy of slavery. Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Botchwey has said an apology “wouldn’t hurt”. There are also reports of wrangling behind the scenes over how reparations will be worded in the summit’s final communiqué. Jamaica, meanwhile, has taken a legal route, petitioning the King to refer questions over the lawfulness of slavery to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Charles has passed the petition on, with a hearing provisionally pencilled in for March. A Buckingham Palace spokesman said apology and reparations were "primarily matters for Governments to address", adding: "His Majesty, of course, always acts on the advice of his government as part of our constitutional settlement." The spokesman said the programme would "not shy away" from the past. But in keeping with the wishes of the host nations, it would principally focus on "the vibrant present and promising future of each country". The King is expected to carry out around 30 engagements across the three nations. He will be joined by the Queen for his last leg in Antigua and Barbuda, to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting Chogm. At the last Commonwealth summit in Samoa two years ago, he told leaders the past "continues to resonate" and urged them to find "the right language" to address it. This week he will discover whether words alone are enough. The Commonwealth secretary-general, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, made the claims ahead of the King's Caribbean tour next week. She said: "If you're asking my personal view [on reparations], I believe the time has come for that conversation. It has come. And I don't believe we can run away from it. But it is important to determine the form that reparations should take, and that is something that will emerge eventually as countries sit around the table to discuss. "As difficult a subject as it is, I believe that countries will come to some conclusions. So whether it takes the form of financial reparations or reparations in kind, that is for the countries to decide on. I believe that the time has come for that conversation." Ghana's former foreign minister also said this month that reparations could be "concessional financing", such as how debt was treated, "climate issues" and the "return of artefacts". Asked whether the King should apologise for slavery, Ms Botchwey said: "That's what the countries have asked for. They've asked for an apology from the King. It wouldn't hurt to have that. It wouldn't hurt to have that. Not at all."