King Charles ready to give up Caribbean title

Speaking to the British press, palace sources cited the island country of Barbados, which stopped considering the King of England as the head of state and became a republic in 2021, as an example.

A royal source described the process that took place at that time with the following words:

"We agreed how we would do this. It would be done without hard feelings. There is absolutely no difficulty in that for us. It all depends on what the countries want to do. You will have seen that the King is very pleased to attend events celebrating Barbados' transition to a republic."

Before ascending to the throne, King Charles made dozens of trips to the Caribbean as a prince.

The last tour, which included the Bahamas, Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda, was Charles' first official visit to the region as the King of England.

Diplomats found the King's 8-day trip successful in terms of environmental protection projects and the goals of strengthening mutual trade ties.

Official contacts were stimulated by British Prime Minister Andy Burnham's offer to discuss an official apology for the historic slave trade.

It was known that previous British governments even refused to apologize.

Prime Minister Burnham's change of attitude led Caribbean countries to demand billions of pounds in compensation from the UK.

Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne spoke to British television channel ITV News just after attending a church service with King Charles on Sunday.

Stating that he personally respected King Charles, Browne said that he wanted to see his country as a republic from now on.

Browne said in his statement: "I am a republican. Therefore, if you ask my personal opinion, I would like to see Antigua and Barbuda become a republic. However, I have to accept the fact that there are certain constitutional provisions to become a republic and the final decision belongs to the people."

According to the laws of Antigua and Barbuda, in order to abolish the royal system and declare a republic, at least two-thirds of the island's population must vote "yes" in a referendum.

Stating that he accepted that the King was in office until the referendum was held, Browne continued his insistence on slavery reparations.

Browne said about British Prime Minister Burnham: "I understand the political situation in England, it may be a difficult proposition for her to accept any form of compensation, but this does not eliminate the need for compensation."