The pressure on King Charles III over a slavery apology was immediate and public. Protesters met him at his first engagement in the Bahamas, the Commonwealth's secretary-general says reparations will be discussed by leaders next week, and one head of state visiting him on this trip has said plainly that words of remorse are no longer enough.

Protests and 'pay what you owe us'

Charles, 77 and receiving treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, opened the three-country, nine-day tour at a youth rally in the Bahamas. The rally was held at the historic site where the Bahamas gained independence in 1973, and protesters were there waving placards reading "pay what you owe us".

Several former colonies have demanded the king take a new step toward making amends for colonisation and the transatlantic slave trade, from which his ancestors profited for centuries. Charles acknowledged "the great suffering of the past" in the face of that pressure.

At the rally, he said:

He also told the young audience that some of what is best in Bahamian culture - "the most joyful, the most hopeful, the most bright" - was born out of darkness.

Reparations on the table at CHOGM

Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey said reparations for slavery will be on the table when leaders meet in Antigua and Barbuda next week. She declined to elaborate on whether the UK government and royals should pursue reparations, but confirmed the issue would come up in St John's.

She told Sky News ahead of the government meeting, which runs from November 1 to 4, that it "wouldn't hurt" for the king to apologise. She also said the "time has come" to discuss reparations, whether in the form of financial payments or otherwise.

The 56-member Commonwealth, with the king at its helm, is in Botchwey's words an important anchor in a "world that is almost spinning out of control". "This CHOGM is going to be one like never before," she told AFP, with the St John's meeting focused on investment and trade opportunities.

'Moving to the apology is the next step'

Guyana's President Irfaan Ali, who will meet Charles during the tour, told ITV News that the king's recognition of slavery's "darkest days" was only the "first step". "Now, moving to the apology is the next step," Ali said, demanding accountability from the former empire which he said exploited the region, destroyed lives and created underdevelopment.

• •Last month Jamaica, where Charles remains head of state, filed a petition in a London appeals court to advance its push for reparations for the African ancestors who suffered under hundreds of years of enslavement.
• •Modern monarchs have expressed varying degrees of remorse for Britain's role in chattel slavery, but none has yet formally apologised.
• •The debt-laden UK government has balked at the idea of financial compensation.
• •In 2022, Prince William and Princess Catherine were met with anti-monarchy protests and calls for reparations on a turbulent trip to Jamaica.

What the king will do on the trip

Charles travels to the Bahamas and Guyana solo; Queen Camilla joins for the final leg in Antigua and Barbuda, where he will address the Commonwealth heads of government (CHOGM) summit. Climate threats facing low-lying islands are on the agenda throughout.

• •In the Bahamas, Charles noted that 90 percent of the country's land sits below two meters, and said "Our world cries out for healing".
• •He will meet environmental organisations including a coral restoration project in Antigua and Barbuda and rainforest conservation in Guyana.
• •Botchwey said many climate-affected countries are not polluters yet feel the brunt of the effects of climate, and the summit will also address climate resilience schemes.

Buckingham Palace has insisted the tour is an opportunity for the king to look forward, meet young people and discuss pressing issues like climate change. He next travels to Guyana solo, before Queen Camilla joins for Antigua and Barbuda, where he will address Commonwealth heads of government from November 1 to 4 with reparations on the table.