King Charles arrives in Guyana on second leg of Caribbean tour

GEORGETOWN, Guyana. King Charles III arrived in Guyana on the afternoon of October 29 for a two-day visit to the resource-rich Caribbean Community (CARICOM) nation, which he last toured as Prince of Wales in 2000.

The King inspected a military guard of honour made up of four platoons and chatted with parade commanders and soldiers.

He arrived from The Bahamas, where the local reparations commission had demanded that he apologise for Britain's role in the transatlantic slave trade.

Guyana is the second leg of a three-nation tour that will take him to Antigua and Barbuda at the weekend for the biennial Commonwealth leaders' summit, which runs from November 1 to 4.

Ali on reparations

His host, President Irfaan Ali, 46, told ITV in a recent interview that Britain must own up to its role in the slave trade.

"You who benefited tremendously from the darkest days of human history, benefited materially and financially, are now telling me that you don't have enough financing to match your needs," Ali said.

The Caribbean Reparations Commission (CRC), set up by regional governments to seek reparations from Britain and other former European slave-trading nations, has said the Antigua summit should be dominated by discussion of slavery and reparations.

CRC head Professor Sir Hilary Beckles of Barbados told reporters recently that the region has never been better prepared to confront Britain and the monarchy over their links to slavery.

"The region is mobilised, the governments are mobilised, so there is no way to describe this CHOGM meeting other than the reparations CHOGM," he said.

Programme in Guyana

There has been no indication that the issue will feature in talks between Ali and the King. The King was due to attend a reception and cultural presentation and to meet environmental and indigenous groups, as well as British investors in Guyana's oil and gas sector.