A delighted King Charles danced and played a pair of Bahamian hand bells as he embraced the carnival atmosphere in Nassau.
During his first full day of engagements in the Caribbean, the monarch set aside the sensitive debate over slavery and reparations as he watched a Junkanoo parade. The exuberant celebration featured energetic dancers in elaborate, brightly coloured costumes who filled Nassau’s main thoroughfare.
Charles had been expected to watch the spectacle as guest of honour alongside Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis. But the infectious performance proved impossible to resist, and the King soon joined the festivities.
He began by tapping his feet before taking the musical instruments and moving to the rhythm. Then, after what appeared to be a playful glance towards his protection officers, he laughed and stepped into the crowd.
The King’s enthusiasm was striking, particularly as he continues a demanding programme of public engagements at the age of 77 while undergoing ongoing cancer treatment.
Junkanoo has its historical roots among enslaved people and is now a major source of cultural pride and friendly competition in the Bahamas. It was therefore fitting that the country’s head of state was honoured with a parade of his own.
Earlier, Charles had been welcomed by the Prime Minister at the House of Assembly on Parliament Square, marking his second major meeting of the tour. He also spoke with Bahamian students taking part in building programmes run by The King’s Foundation before attending the celebratory street parade.
David Brown of Brown’s Restaurant offered the King a taste of local crab and rice. He said: ‘He said he hoped I had enough to go around.’
A delighted King Charles danced and played Bahamian hand bells as he embraced the carnival spirit
The King was guest of honour at a Junkanoo street parade in Parliament Square during his first full day of engagements in the Bahamas
The energetic performance was so infectious that Charles joined the dancers
Dancers in lavish, brightly coloured costumes filled Nassau’s main thoroughfare during the boisterous parade
The King also stopped to speak with Marv Cunningham, owner of Mr Mix Bahamas, about the business’s gin-based cocktails.
With a chuckle, Charles told him: ‘Save one of those for me later, I could do with one.’
Mr Cunningham showed him a cocktail made with coconut water, condensed milk, London Dry Gin and a touch of nutmeg. He described it as the ‘perfect drink for the heat’, adding that it had to be shaken, not stirred, ‘just like James Bond!’
Charles then made an impromptu walkabout, shaking hands with local residents who had gathered in Parliament Square to welcome him.
Only four protesters calling for reparations had assembled along the parade route, although local police later asked them to leave.
The demonstrators, members of the Bahamas National Reparations Committee, held handmade signs reading ‘Pay us what you owe us’, ‘Run us our money’ and ‘BRIT: Belongers, Receivers, Investors, Traders of Slavery.’
Noelle Nicholls, chair of the committee, said: ‘At the National Reparations Committee we want to make sure that both the Bahamian government and King Charles, as the head of state of the Bahamas, understands that we have not forgotten that he represents a crown that was responsible for one of the gravest crimes against humanity.
‘And so we’re here to say that you may be on the Bahamian territory as our head of state, but you are still a symbol of that atrocity that was perpetuated against our ancestors.
‘We are demanding an apology for those crimes, and reparations for the harm that was done.
‘So we think it’s important to be present, so that amidst the pomp and pageantry of the celebrations, which are for some people a celebration, are for us also a sombre occasion.
‘Because this is the King returning in a way that has still not atoned for the sins of the past.’
King Charles smiled during his visit to the Royal Bahamas Defence Force Coral Harbour Base on Wednesday
The monarch wore several medals, including the Order of Merit neck order, while meeting dignitaries
The King received a Royal Salute from a Guard of Honour and Colour Party made up of 106 officers and Marines
Charles received a Royal Salute from the Guard of Honour and Colour Party at the defence force base
King Charles with Royal Bahamas Defence Force Commander Commodore Floyd Moxey
Charles spoke with hundreds of serving personnel, women and men, as well as veterans, at the base
The King is making a nine-day Caribbean tour of the Bahamas, Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda at the request of the British government
Troops in their distinctive white uniforms lined up to welcome the British monarch
Asked about the palace’s position that Charles cannot apologise for Britain’s historic role in the transatlantic slave trade because the matter rests with the government, campaigner Dr Niambi Hall Campbell-Dean said: ‘He is a part of our government too, he’s the head of it. The King of the Netherlands has apologised.
‘And so we think that the King has the power and the authority to make a statement as our head of state or, you know, in his position as the head of the legacy of this family.’
Charles also met Bahamian students taking part in The King’s Foundation Building Craft Programme for The Bahamas.
The programme was developed by Lyford Cay Foundations, a Bahamian education charity, to preserve and build expertise in traditional skills including carpentry, stonemasonry, blacksmithing, shingle roofing and lime plastering.
Earlier, the King paid tribute to the fallen while inspecting Royal Bahamas Defence Force troops in a solemn opening to the second day of his tour.
Wearing his medals, including the Order of Merit neck order, and sunglasses in the bright Coral Harbour heat on New Providence, Charles spent an hour with the RBDF speaking to hundreds of serving personnel and veterans.
He laid a wreath at the Flamingo Monument, which commemorates the four Bahamian Marines killed when HMBS Flamingo sank on 10 May 1980.
A handwritten card signed ‘Charles R’ carried the message: ‘In everlasting remembrance.’
The King was received by Defence Force Commander Commodore Floyd Moxey and other dignitaries, while lines of troops in their distinctive white uniforms stood in the sunshine.
From a dais, Charles accepted a Royal Salute from the Guard of Honour and Colour Party, comprising 106 officers and Marines.
The band played a Royal Fanfare and the Bahamian National Anthem, followed by tunes including I Vow to Thee My Country and Abide With Me.
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Charles also viewed a plaque marking his visit alongside Coronation Medals, which will be presented to Royal Bahamas Defence Force personnel at a later date.
At the Flamingo Monument, the King heard how HMBS Flamingo sank after being attacked by Cuban MiG fighter aircraft, killing Marines Fenrick Sturrup, Austin Smith, David Tucker and Edward Williams.
Jermaine Gibson met the King wearing a black T-shirt featuring a muscular image of Charles in a ‘gloves up’ pose, boxing shorts, a vest and crown
Mr Gibson, right, pictured with 12-year-old Sanai Miller, whom he coaches, wearing specially designed shirts created for Charles’s visit
Charles was presented with his own T-shirt featuring the distinctive design
The monarch watched young boxers training during his visit to The Bahamas Boxing Academy in Nassau
The King met relatives of each of the Marines who died, as well as surviving crew member Force Chief Petty Officer Gregory Curry.
He then boarded HMBS Lawrence Major, a 56-metre roll-on/roll-off vessel primarily used to respond to natural disasters. There, he spoke with dozens of serving and retired personnel about their roles and length of service.
His itinerary also included a visit to conservation projects at Bonefish Pond National Park, highlighting the need for environmental restoration and climate-resilience work, followed by a visit to The Bahamas Boxing Academy, which uses sport to create opportunities for local youngsters.
Charles laughed when he was presented with a T-shirt showing a muscular version of himself wearing boxing shorts, gloves and a crown.
He watched a youth boxing session and met young athletes and their trainers beside the boxing bags, including 12-year-old Sanai Miller and his coach Jermaine Gibson, members of the All Out Boxing Club who train at the academy.
Both were wearing black T-shirts emblazoned with the image of the monarch in a ‘gloves up’ pose, dressed in purple boxing shorts, a vest and crown.
‘Ha!’ Charles said, pointing at the shirts and laughing. ‘We made one for you, I had it made last night,’ Jermaine told him.
Accepting the gift, Charles replied, still laughing: ‘How generous.’ Gibson later said: ‘We gave him one of his own, he said it was really good.’
The King also met Bahamian boxing champions Steve Larrimore, who competed at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games and won Commonwealth and Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medals in 1982, and Jermaine ‘Chu Chu’ Mackey. Mackey’s achievements include the Bahamian super-middleweight title, the WBA and WBC Caribbean championships and a Commonwealth title.
The day ended with a garden reception at Government House, where Charles met Bahamians recognised for their significant contributions to the country.
King Charles smiled as he was welcomed to Government House in Nassau
Charles was pictured with Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis and First Lady Ann Marie Davis
King Charles III posed with dignitaries during an audience at Government House in Nassau
The King smiled as he listened to Governor-General Dame Cynthia Pratt’s welcome speech at a garden party in Parliament Square
Charles viewed a plaque marking his visit with Royal Bahamas Defence Force Commander Commodore Floyd Moxey
Charles laid a wreath at the Flamingo Monument for the four Bahamian Marines killed when HMBS Flamingo sank on 10 May 1980 after a Cuban MiG attack
King Charles met members of the RBDF Rangers Youth Programme aboard HMBS Lawrence Major at Coral Harbour Base
A close-up of King Charles’s medals. From left to right: Queen’s Service Medal (New Zealand), Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal, Silver Jubilee Medal, Golden Jubilee Medal, Diamond Jubilee Medal, Platinum Jubilee Medal, Naval Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, Canadian Forces Decoration, New Zealand Commemorative Medal and New Zealand Armed Forces Award
King Charles was escorted to the Flamingo Monument alongside Commodore Floyd Moxey
Royal Bahamas Defence Force personnel lined up before the King’s arrival at Coral Harbour Base
HMBS Flamingo sank after being attacked by a Cuban MiG fighter aircraft
Charles met relatives of the fallen Marines and surviving crew member Force Chief Petty Officer Gregory Curry
Charles walked along a wooden boardwalk through the mangroves at Bonefish Pond National Park on New Providence
The King saw restoration work under way in the unique wetland ecosystem at Bonefish Pond National Park
Bonefish Pond features mangrove forest, tidal creeks and seagrass habitats that support fish and shorebirds
King Charles is on a nine-day Caribbean tour requested by the British government, travelling to the Bahamas, Guyana and finally Antigua and Barbuda. He will be joined by Prime Minister Andy Burnham in Antigua and Barbuda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, or CHOGM.
The visit has been overshadowed by calls from campaigners for a formal apology from the British government over Britain’s historic role in the transatlantic slave trade, along with demands for reparations.
The King, who acts on the advice of his ministers, addressed the sensitive issue within hours of arriving on Tuesday night. He said: ‘It is only right that we should acknowledge the great suffering of the past, in these islands and beyond.’
Although Charles did not apologise or offer financial compensation, in line with government policy, aides have said he will ‘not shy away’ from the growing calls that threaten to overshadow his visit to the Bahamas, Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda.
A spokesman for the King said he would confront ‘the most shameful aspects of our past’.
Whether that will satisfy campaigners remains uncertain. The Bahamas National Reparations Committee has already warned him: ‘Don’t come empty-handed.’
Buckingham Palace says the King is ‘alive’ to the strength of feeling in the region, particularly because he is both Head of the Commonwealth and monarch of two countries on the itinerary: the Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda. Calls for Britain to take action have been growing in both nations. ‘His Majesty will as usual not seek to ignore the past,’ an aide said.
Charles is therefore expected to address the ‘backdrop of wider discussions on colonial legacy’ directly in several speeches, as well as visiting sites connected to the history of slavery.
At the same time, he will remain mindful of the British government’s established position. While the government acknowledges the ‘abhorrence’ of the historic transatlantic slave trade and its continuing legacy, it rejects compensation claims on the grounds that the trade was not illegal at the time.
An official apology from the King could be viewed as opening the way to billions of pounds in claims against the United Kingdom.
