In Bermuda, a British territory located in the Atlantic Ocean, King Charles III devoted part of his visit to the painful memory of slavery, a sensitive issue for the British monarchy.
Published on: 05/01/2026 - 10:15 p.m. Modified on: 05/02/2026 - 12:10 p.m.
A journey along the roads of the British colonial past. In Bermuda, where he arrived on Friday May 1, after a marathon state visit to the United States, King Charles III confronted the painful memory of slavery, a sensitive issue for the British monarchy.
The British royal family has been repeatedly asked by countries victimized by the slave trade, from which the United Kingdom profited for centuries, to apologize. Which she has so far never formulated.
Without addressing these claims explicitly, Charles III was confronted with the issue during several parts of the program of his first visit to a British overseas territory as king.
"In fact, I was told, to my great surprise, that this is also the first time in Bermuda's 400-year history that the islands have hosted a reigning king," the sovereign said during a reception at the governor's residence.
“I'm terribly sorry it took so long,” he apologized, triggering laughter from the audience.
His mother, Elizabeth II, visited the archipelago several times during her reign.
“Years ago, when the queen came, my parents had the chance to meet her, so I am really delighted to be here to see the king. It is an honor that this is the first (ultramarine) territory where he travels”, appreciates to AFP Judith Alexander, retired ex-school principal.
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The dark hours of the slave trade
Charles attended traditional dances in the southwest of the archipelago on Friday. Masked dancers in colorful costumes and high feathered headdresses perpetuate folklore with African, Native American and Caribbean influences.
Painted masks come from the time of slavery, when slaves were forbidden to dance in public and thus concealed their identity. The outfits also carry bells symbolizing the chains that hindered them.
The monarch also visited an exhibition at the Bermuda National Museum tracing the island's dark history during the slave trade.
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Many African, Caribbean and Pacific nations want Britain and other European powers to pay financial compensation for slavery or at least make political amends.
During a Commonwealth summit in Samoa in October 2024, Charles III, who remains head of state of several countries concerned, refrained from apologizing. He asked participants to “reject the language of division.”
Speech before the US Congress
The king will leave during the day for England, after a tour dominated by his visit to the United States, highly anticipated in the midst of tensions between London and Washington and which was widely hailed as a success.
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Shortly before the departure of Charles III from the United States on Thursday, Donald Trump, fascinated by the monarchy and its splendor, greeted “the most formidable of kings”.
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The American president announced that he would remove tariffs on Scotch whiskey "in honor of the King and Queen of the United Kingdom."
The highlight of this four-day state visit, mainly between Washington and New York, was Charles III's speech to the American Congress on Tuesday. He is only the second British sovereign to have spoken there after Elizabeth II in 1991.
The king's speech was warmly received, even if he addressed sensitive subjects for Donald Trump's Republican supporters, calling for "unfailing determination" to be demonstrated in the defense of Ukraine or even mentioning the balance of power and climate change.
Charles III urged London and Washington, upset over the war in Iran, to defend their common values and resist calls to turn “always further in on themselves”.
With AFP
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