King Charles III dances in the Bahamas: second day of the Caribbean tour after the speech about the 'sufferings of the past'

Dancing after the solemn speeches

On the second day of his nine-day Caribbean tour, King Charles III swapped royal formality for dancing. Holding maracas in the colours of the Bahamian flag, he joined Junkanoo — a cultural celebration and carnival devoted to island life. In feathered headdresses and bright costumes, under the hot Caribbean sun, the king, in a suit and sunglasses, danced at the front of the parade to the cheers of the crowd. This was reported by BBC News, whose correspondent is working in Nassau.

Acknowledging the 'sufferings of the past'

The lighter mood came after the king's arrival on Tuesday, when he spoke at an event honouring local youth. Charles III said the country's culture was 'born out of darkness' and that it was 'right' to acknowledge historical injustices, noting the pain of the slave trade and the 'sufferings of the past'. The acknowledgement came amid calls for reparations for slavery.

The day's programme: from a monument to the mangroves

The day began with a tribute to fallen members of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force: the king, medals in hand, spoke with service personnel and laid a wreath at the Flamingo monument, dedicated to four marines killed in May 1980 when Cuban MiGs sank the ship HMBS Flamingo. He then visited the Bahamas Boxing Academy, where coaches and young boxers wore T-shirts showing him in a crown, gloves and a championship belt. 'He said it was really great, and we gave him one,' said Jermaine Gibson, president of a neighbouring boxing club. To the children, the king remarked: 'Perhaps we'll see each other at the Commonwealth Games.' Climate is a key theme of this trip: at Bonefish Pond National Park, once a landfill and now a reserve protecting 1,235 acres of mangroves, the king walked along a new boardwalk through the wetlands and spoke with students who dream of becoming marine biologists.

Protest and the question of reparations

Near the parade, a small action by activists of the Bahamas National Reparations Committee took place, with placards reading 'Pay us what you owe us'; police dispersed it. Committee chair Noelle Nicholls stated: 'We demand an apology for these crimes and reparations for the harm done,' adding that the protesters' presence 'amid the pomp and pageantry of the celebrations' was for them 'a sorrowful occasion, because the king returns in a way that has still not atoned for the sins of the past.' The king confirmed that Commonwealth leaders will discuss the legacy of slavery at a major summit in Antigua next week.

What comes next on the itinerary

The day ended with a reception in the gardens of Government House in Nassau, where the Governor-General of the Bahamas, Dame Cynthia Pratt, expressed pride in the king's first visit since 1973. On Thursday the tour leaves the Bahamas and continues in Guyana, where the focus will be on the environment and biodiversity. Then in Antigua and Barbuda the king will be joined by Queen Camilla for CHOGM — the biennial summit of leaders of the 56 Commonwealth countries, where Charles III will deliver a keynote speech as Head of the Commonwealth. The trip was planned jointly with the governments of the Bahamas, Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda, with an emphasis on remembering the past and the aspirations of future generations.

Image source, Press Association

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Press Association