The 'darkest days' on the record

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said on Friday that the tour would not shy away from the 'darkest days of our past', as His Majesty has described the colonial era. Charles first used the phrase in a speech in Barbados in 2021, when he attended the ceremony at which the country became a republic, removing his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, as head of state.

Speaking at that ceremony, King Charles said:

The palace said Charles has worked to acknowledge 'the wrongs of the past' and to 'right inequalities that endure', and that on this trip he will renew his personal, wholehearted and continuing commitment to that process.

Bahamas, Guyana, then Antigua and Barbuda

Charles travels first to the Bahamas and Guyana alone, then goes on to Antigua and Barbuda with Queen Camilla. All three countries are former British colonies that are now independent and members of the British Commonwealth. He remains head of state in the Bahamas and in Antigua and Barbuda, a role that is largely ceremonial. The king is 77 and still receiving treatment for cancer.

The palace's itinerary includes:

• •a speech by Charles at a meeting of Commonwealth heads of government in Antigua and Barbuda;
• •a parade marking 45 years of independence in Antigua and Barbuda, which the royals will attend;
• •a state visit to Guyana, a republic and the only English-speaking country in South America, timed to the 60th anniversary of its independence from Britain.

No apology, reparations left to governments

Calls for slavery reparations have shadowed royal visits to the region in recent years:

• •The UK government reiterated last month its rejection of calls for the payment of slavery reparations, after a Jamaican delegation filed a petition addressed to Charles.
• •That delegation asked the monarch to refer three questions on the legality of the transatlantic slave trade to the Caribbean island's highest court of appeal, based in London.
• •On a 2022 Caribbean tour, Prince William and his wife, Catherine, were met with anti-monarchy protests and calls for reparations.
• •Charles's younger brother, Prince Edward, later that year cancelled a visit to Grenada after pro-republican protests there.

Modern British royals have expressed remorse for the brutal slave trade that enriched their ancestors, but, like the UK government, they have issued no official apology. The palace called discussions about the colonial legacy and the slave trade important but primarily matters for governments to address.

Cricket, rainforest and 'a promising future'

The palace said the trip will feature plenty of meetings with local people and focus on 'the vibrant present and promising future of each country'. In Antigua and Barbuda, where the West Indies team is based, Charles is set to meet cricketing legends; in Guyana, he will meet conservationists responsible for the country's rainforest.

The tour opens on 27 October and closes on 4 November, with the speech to Commonwealth heads of government among its set pieces.