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The Bahamas National Reparations Committee has criticised King Charles III’s remarks on the legacy of slavery, saying his acknowledgement of historical suffering falls short of the apology and action it believes are necessary to address the harm caused by the Crown.

In a statement responding to the King’s speech on Tuesday, the committee said Bahamian culture was not “born out of darkness”, but was shaped by the agency, resilience and determination of people who survived slavery and its lasting effects.

“Our culture was born out of agency and out of the w  ill to survive despite the horrors, trauma and degradation,” the statement said, describing Bahamian culture as a testament to the power of the human spirit.

The committee argued that praise for Bahamian culture was not enough, calling on the King to address the Crown’s role in slavery and explain how it intends to atone for the harm committed in its name.

“We need him to speak about his role in the darkness and how he plans to atone for it actively,” the statement said.

The BNRC added that the King’s comments fell short of what justice requires: “a full and formal apology”, alongside steps to remedy historical wrongs.

Dr Niambi Hall Campbell-Dean, the committee’s chair, told The Guardian that she appreciated the King’s attempt to connect with Bahamian culture, but described his words as “hollow platitudes”.

She stressed that her criticism was not intended to diminish the significance of the King’s visit or the hospitality shown by Bahamians.

“My critique is not an attempt to rain on their parade,” she said. “It is because of this pride that I feel we deserve so much more than what was offered.”

The debate also drew comment from Professor Hilary Beckles, chair of the Caribbean Community Reparations Commission, who said the Caribbean was seeking “proprietary justice, beginning with remorse”.

Beckles argued that the King’s engagement with Caribbean young people should offer meaningful empowerment and acknowledge the continuing consequences of slavery. Anything less, he said, risked minimising the legacy of harm and suffering.

While King Charles’ remarks recognised the pain of the past, reparations advocates are pressing for a more explicit acknowledgement of the Crown’s role, a formal apology and concrete steps towards addressing the consequences of slavery.

King Charles III has acknowledged the suffering caused by slavery in the Bahamas, but he left without offering the formal apology reparations advocates had demanded, a position Buckingham Palace had signalled ahead of his visit.

“Some of what is best in Bahamian culture today, the most joyful, the most hopeful, the most bright, was born out of darkness.

“It is only right that we should acknowledge the great suffering of the past in these islands and beyond, even as we rejoice in the successes of the present and build new opportunities for the future,” King Charles said, speaking at a youth rally at Clifford Park on Tuesday after his arrival in the country.

Now the question is what comes next.

At the site where the Bahamas celebrated its independence in 1973, Charles said it was “only right” to acknowledge “the great suffering and injustices of the past in these islands and beyond.” He also confirmed that Commonwealth leaders would discuss slavery’s legacy at their upcoming meeting in Antigua and Barbuda.

It was an acknowledgement of historical suffering but not an apology.

And for the Bahamas National Reparations Committee, that distinction is important.

The BNRC said the King’s remarks fell short of what justice requires, arguing that Bahamian culture was born not simply from “darkness”, but from the agency, resilience and determination of people who survived slavery and its aftermath. Its chair, Dr Niambi Hall Campbell-Dean, described the speech as falling short of what Bahamians deserved, according to The Guardian.

For reparations advocates, acknowledgement alone does not address demands for a formal apology, material remedies or the return of cultural artefacts. A speech can recognise suffering without committing the Crown or the British government to any of those steps.

Buckingham Palace had already indicated that a formal apology was not expected, while the British government maintained its opposition to financial reparations. Charles’s remarks should therefore be understood as a public recognition of a painful history alongside a promise that Commonwealth leaders would discuss its legacy.

The discussion in Antigua will be worth watching. But placing slavery’s legacy on a summit agenda does not, by itself, guarantee negotiations, commitments or action. The substance of those discussions and what governments do afterwards, if anything, will matter more than the announcement alone.

For the Bahamas, more than 50 years after independence, the country remains a constitutional monarchy, and the relationship between the Crown, colonial history and national identity continues to prompt questions.

It remains to be seen whether the conversation moves beyond carefully chosen words, and whether any concrete steps will follow.

Featured Images: AP/Tim Aylen

As King Charles III prepares to visit the Bahamas, calls for an apology for slavery and renewed discussions about reparations are gaining momentum across the Commonwealth. It is not known if Prime Minister Philip Davis too, will raise the issue directly with the monarch.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey has added her voice to those calling for an apology, saying it “wouldn’t hurt” and that “the time has come” for countries to discuss reparations.

In an interview with British media Sky News ahead of the King’s Caribbean tour, Botchwey said many Commonwealth countries had called for an apology. She argued that the form reparations should take—including financial support, concessional financing, climate-related assistance or the return of cultural artefacts, should be determined through discussions among countries.

This week, Guyana’s President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, has also urged Britain and Caribbean nations to move beyond acknowledgement towards meaningful action. He said an apology could help create an environment for open discussions, but should not be treated as the end of the process.

Ali has called for reparations discussions to address development gaps and inequalities linked to slavery, including through debt relief, development financing and investment in areas such as education and healthcare.

Where does Davis stand?

Davis has not publicly outlined whether he intends to raise slavery or reparations directly with King Charles during the Bahamas visit.

However, the Prime Minister previously called for a frank conversation about reparatory justice. Speaking to POLITICO during the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Davis said the transatlantic slave trade had inflicted a “horrendous impact” on the African diaspora and argued that the issue was about more than an apology or money.

He said it was also about recognising and understanding the lasting cultural, mental and physical harm experienced by the descendants of enslaved people.

At the time, then-British Prime Minister Keir Starmer acknowledged that slavery was “abhorrent” but said he preferred to focus on present-day challenges and future cooperation.

What could the King say?

Buckingham Palace has indicated that the royal family will not shy away from discussing Britain’s colonial past. However, the UK government has ruled out paying reparations, while a formal apology from the King is not expected during the tour. As a constitutional monarch, Charles acts on ministerial advice in matters of government policy.

The Bahamas National Reparations Committee has called on the Royal Family not to come “empty-handed,” renewing demands for an apology and reparatory justice.

Davis has welcomed the royal visit as an opportunity to showcase Bahamian culture and hospitality. Whether reparations will be part of his discussions with the King remains unclear.

Prime Minister Philip Davis seems determined to make one word stick: ‘sovereignty’.

At the United Nations General Assembly last month, the Prime Minister warned that small nations must not become somebody else’s “backyard,” declaring that sovereignty that must ask permission is not sovereignty at all. Now, Davis is bringing that same language to Grand Bahama.

At the Grand Bahama Shipyard on Thursday night, Davis unveiled plans for a new development council, a review of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and a proposed Grand Bahama Development Act. He framed the reforms as an effort to correct what he described as an imbalance between private authority and the power of an elected government.

His argument is blunt: land ownership does not mean ownership of governing authority. No private institution, he insists, should have a veto over Grand Bahama’s future.

But why has sovereignty become such a recurring theme for Davis?

Grand Bahama offers Davis a concrete example of the question he raised at the UN: how much control does an independent nation truly exercise when important economic arrangements were established under colonial rule?

The Hawksbill Creek Agreement was signed in 1955, when The Bahamas was still a British colony. It helped establish Freeport as a special economic zone, attracting investment and enabling the development of major infrastructure. But it also created a distinctive governance and commercial framework whose future is now being challenged by the government.

That history is complicated. The agreement helped build Freeport, but its origins and the powers it established have become central to Davis’ debate over who should shape the island’s future.

Davis is now promising reform through Parliament and the legal process, while pledging to respect contracts, vested interests and existing investments. The question is whether the proposed changes can deliver greater public accountability and wider economic opportunity without creating uncertainty for businesses and investors

Then comes the royal visit.

King Charles is arriving as the Bahamas’ constitutional Head of State.

His visit is already unfolding amid renewed demands for an apology and reparations for slavery and colonialism. Buckingham Palace has said the King will not shy away from Britain’s colonial past, but a formal apology is not planned for the tour, and the British government has rejected financial reparations.

The GB Speech and the King’s visit, however, bring different dimensions of sovereignty into public view: who governs, who answers to the people, and how an independent nation confronts the legacy of its colonial past.

The real test is what happens after the speeches by Davis.

Davis has promised a green paper and six months of public consultation. Grand Bahamians will need more than declarations about sovereignty but they will need to see exactly what powers would change, how decisions will be made and whether development will reach communities beyond Freeport.

As the King prepares to arrive, Davis is making his argument about who should hold power at home. The country now has to examine what that argument means in practice.

As the Bahamas prepares to welcome King Charles III later this month, Buckingham Palace has made one thing clear: the King will not issue a formal apology for Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade, and no reparations will be offered during his Caribbean tour.

The announcement comes weeks after the Bahamas National Reparations Committee (BNRC) called on the British Royal Family not to arrive in the Bahamas “empty-handed,” demanding an apology for slavery and colonisation and renewed action on reparations.

King Charles is scheduled to visit The Bahamas from October 27–29, before travelling to Guyana and then joining Queen Camilla in Antigua and Barbuda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

The Palace says the King will not shy away from Britain’s history.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said there are important discussions taking place about the colonial legacy and the intergenerational impact of the transatlantic trade in enslaved people. The Palace also pointed to the King’s previous description of slavery as an “atrocity” that “forever stains our history.”

But there will be a limit to what Charles says or offers.

The Palace says apologies and reparations are matters for governments, while the British Government has maintained that financial reparations are not the answer. Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband recently reiterated that position.

That puts the King’s visit in an uncomfortable space.

The BNRC is asking for an apology and reparations and Britain is saying neither is coming.

And yet the King is not simply a foreign dignitary arriving in Nassau. He is King of The Bahamas and the country’s Head of State.

The Palace says the visit will focus primarily on the “vibrant present and promising future” of the countries Charles visits. But slavery, colonialism and reparations are already part of the conversation surrounding his arrival.

King Charles III is coming to the Bahamas, and before the red carpets are rolled out, there is a question that deserves an answer: How much will it cost us?

The last major royal visit provides a useful benchmark.

When Prince William and Catherine visited The Bahamas in March 2022, the government later reported preliminary spending of $636,194 on the visit. More than $566,000 went to New Providence businesses and vendors, while additional spending was recorded in Abaco and Grand Bahama. The government also highlighted the international media exposure generated by the visit.

CSJ Report also reported at the time that the government had purchased 40 new vehicles and rented five floors at Atlantis for the royal party and entourage.

Four years later, the circumstances are different. This time, a reigning King is coming.

Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell has indicated that the visit is expected to involve heightened security and strict protocol. But when asked about the cost, his response was striking.

“There’s no bill for our king.” He added: “Nothing too good for the king.”

But what does “no bill” actually mean?

There will inevitably be costs associated with security, transportation, protocol, government personnel, official events and preparations. Some expenses may also be absorbed by private companies or other public agencies.

The government does not necessarily have to prove that a royal visit is a bad investment.

It can argue that international exposure, diplomacy, tourism promotion and the prestige of hosting a head of state have value. In 2022, the government itself pointed to the more than 40 international media organisations that covered the visit and promoted the Bahamas internationally.

But if there is value, can we measure it?

How much will this visit cost? Who will pay? What will taxpayers provide? What will private businesses or donors contribute? And what tangible benefits will the Bahamas receive in return?

Taxpayers should know what it costs to host him.

In 2022, the public eventually got a number.

This time, perhaps the number should come before the King arrives, not months afterward.

When King Charles III arrives in the Bahamas this October, he will see a country preparing to welcome a monarch. But will he see the same Bahamas that Bahamians experience every day?

For some residents, the royal visit has already sparked a familiar joke: Perhaps the roads will finally get fixed and the lights will stay on—at least while the King is here.

The comments may be humorous, but they reveal something serious about how some Bahamians view their government’s priorities.

Shamere Castro wrote on Facebook: “Yayyyyyy. The roads will finally get paved and downtown might get a quick facelift.”

Carmon Newton asked: “Think the power might stay on for him & a few Roads get fixed?”

And Doyla Fox joked: “All roads his motorcade travels will be freshly paved.”

Because royal visits require extraordinary preparation. Security arrangements, motorcade routes, official venues and public appearances mean roads and public spaces along those routes receive heightened attention.

The Bahamas saw this kind of intense preparation during the March 2022 visit of Prince William and Catherine, when the couple travelled through New Providence, Abaco and Grand Bahama.

Now Charles is returning, this time as King.

And with him comes an interesting public expectation: that the country’s best face will be put forward for the monarch.

Why shouldn’t the best version of the Bahamas be good enough for Bahamians too?

A freshly paved road is still a freshly paved road after the motorcade leaves. A functioning electricity system benefits residents long after the royal delegation departs. A cleaner, better-maintained downtown benefits workers, businesses and visitors every day, not just a visiting head of state.

Of course, the King does not control BPL, road paving or Bahamian infrastructure. And there is no evidence that his visit itself will determine which roads are repaired or when.

But the jokes are revealing something worth paying attention to. They reflect a public perception that when important people come to town, things can suddenly happen faster.

Charles III was crowned king on Saturday, in an eighth-century ceremony that included concessions to the modern age, not on display since 1953 when his mother Queen Elizabeth II, was crowned.

“I come not to be served, but to serve,” Charles said in his first remarks of the ceremony, before the 74-year-old, was anointed with holy oil, symbolizing the sacred nature of his rule. He was vested with an imperial mantle, and the archbishop of Canterbury placed the ancient crown of St. Edward onto his head.