The heavens opened as King Charles attended a parade in Antigua and Barbuda's capital Saint John this weekend to commemorate the island nation's independence from Britain.
No one thought of providing the monarch with an umbrella or a roof over his head. He is said to have – if one chooses to believe the pointed headlines of the British media – been soaked and "furious".
At the Commonwealth Summit in Saint John's on Tuesday, however, he was as composed as usual. The meeting concludes his nine-day tour of the Caribbean. King Charles is the symbolic head of the Commonwealth, an organization made up of 56 countries, most of which were part of the British Empire.
From his place in the lectern, he thanked with warmth and a whimsical smile for the striking hospitality he had enjoyed in the Caribbean.
- I think there is some truth in the saying: Small islands, big vibes.
The trip has otherwise been dominated by a darker theme: slavery.
Demands from former colonies for Britain to apologize and offer reparations for historical abuses have become increasingly vocal in recent years.
But as recently as September, Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced that compensation was not on the cards. And Buckingham Palace recently stressed that - despite the involvement of the Crown and the Royal Navy in the slave trade - it is not for the King to apologise.
As expected, he did not do so in his summit speech either. However, he acknowledged the pain, both others' and his own.
- This shameful capital fills my heart with horror and my soul with the deepest personal sorrow, he said.
He then turned the tables and pointed out that the Royal Navy actually also played a leading role in stopping the international trade in enslaved people.
The applause was subdued. Many of the delegates from former colonies had wanted something more. Possibly they will get it anyway.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham appears to have changed his mind since the statement in September.
In an article published in The Guardian newspaper on Friday, he writes that Britain has "buried its head in the sand" regarding the past and thus damaged the Commonwealth.
Downing Street has announced that he will set aside time at the Antigua and Barbuda summit to discuss what form an apology might take. The British Empire enslaved millions of Africans who were shipped to the Caribbean and forced to work as slaves on sugar, tea and coffee plantations. Many died of malnutrition, violence and disease.
For this, Britain has never formally apologized. Now the door has been opened to do so, possibly already within a year.
During the summit, the Prime Minister will also present plans to offer former colonies debt relief. However, he does not want to call these debt reliefs a kind of compensation. Andy Burnham is adamant that today's Britons cannot be held financially responsible for the injustices of their forefathers.
The BBC's court commentator describes King Charles' speeches and words on slavery as some of the most powerful he has ever uttered.
The protesters outside the convention hall in Saint John's would probably disagree.
