King Charles III will address the issue of colonialism during his Caribbean tour

King Charles III, expected from 27 October to 4 November in the Caribbean region for a delicate tour of various Commonwealth countries, does not intend to "evade" the theme of colonialism and slave trafficking linked to the darkest memories of the late British Empire as well as other European powers. Buckingham Palace sources underlined this today, on the sidelines of the diffusion of some details on the delicate visit, which will see Charles stop in Guyana (on the Latin American continent), in the Bahamas islands and finally in Antigua and Barbuda: where he will be joined by Queen Camilla and where at the beginning of November he will preside over an annual summit of the heads of government of the Commonwealth.

The monarch, who will turn 78 in November, is determined to also remember "the darkest days" of his country's and the monarchy's past, the palace sources said, and then underlined how "important debates are underway on the topic of the colonial legacy and the transgenerational consequences linked to the trans-Atlantic trafficking of enslaved people". The expectation, according to the media, is a sort of mea culpa on behalf of his predecessors, for the British responsibilities of the past, after already in 2021, then as Prince of Wales, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II had touched on the topic with unprecedented admissions in the tones of the House of Windsor: speaking of the slave trade as an "atrocity" destined to "stain our history forever".

The Caribbean countries of the Commonwealth, some of which are inclined to no longer recognize the British sovereign as head of state, following the example of what Barbados did with the formal transformation into a republic 5 years ago, have also long been asking for formal apologies from the European states heirs of the colonial powers of the past and in particular from the United Kingdom; as well as potentially multibillion-dollar economic reparations to offset the historical consequences of slavery. Compensations on which the London governments have so far always refused to open the slightest concrete window of negotiation.