PALACE AIDE SAYS KING RELISHES TOUGH DIPLOMATIC ASSIGNMENTS

King Charles relishes the demanding parts of his role, a senior palace aide said after his nine-day tour of the Bahamas, Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda. The aide said the Government increasingly asks Charles to enter “politically charged situations” and described him as “a great secret weapon”. Questions about whether the UK should apologise and pay reparations for its role in the transatlantic slave trade featured throughout the tour. The leadership of all three countries sought reparatory justice.

Charles travelled alone to the Bahamas and undertook a state visit to Guyana before Camilla joined him in Antigua and Barbuda. There, he opened a Commonwealth leaders’ summit in his capacity as head of the Commonwealth. In his opening speech, Charles said the transatlantic slave trade “fills my heart with horror and my soul with the most profound personal sorrow”. He did not offer an apology.

The aide linked the tour to Charles’s wider diplomatic work, saying that renewing relationships with nations facing complex political issues motivates him. “We have to tread quite a careful line sometimes between government policy and the King’s role,” the aide said. Earlier this year, Charles addressed Congress during a visit to the United States and reminded Donald Trump of the UK’s value as an ally. Before that visit, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey repeatedly called for its cancellation, expressing concern that Trump could embarrass Charles.