King Charles arrives in Bahamas acknowledging 'great suffering of the past' amid slavery reparations demands
King Charles, who acknowledged "the great suffering and injustices of the past" during his Bahamas visit but stopped short of an apology, is on his first Caribbean tour as monarch.King Charles is on a nine-day Caribbean tour culminating in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua, where slavery's legacy will be formally discussed by Commonwealth leaders.King Charles (left) with Philip Davis, Prime Minister of the Bahamas, as the Bahamas National Reparations Committee said the King's remarks "fall short of what justice requires.King Charles arrives in Nassau to begin a Caribbean tour that will also be attended by Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
King Charles spent an hour at the Royal Bahamas Defence Force base at Coral Harbour on day two of his Caribbean tour, laying a wreath at the Flamingo Monument and meeting the families of all four fallen marines. His handwritten card, signed "Charles R", read "in everlasting remembrance". He also met Gregory Curry, the surviving crew member who was aboard HMBS Flamingo when Cuban MiG jets sank it.
The four marines killed in the 1980 incident were Fenrick Sturrup, Austin Smith, David Tucker and Edward Williams.
The visit came a day after Charles told a Nassau youth rally that Bahamian culture was 'born out of darkness', acknowledging the 'great suffering of the past' amid reparations demands.
The Bahamas National Reparations Committee said Charles's slavery remarks fell 'short of what justice requires'.
