King Charles acknowledged the “most painful aspects” of the Commonwealth’s past as he bid goodbye to Samoa after indirectly acknowledging growing calls for slavery reprations in Samoa.
Charles and Queen Camilla ended their four-day state visit to Samoa by visiting a village twinned with the UK after attending a major Commonwealth summit was hosted by the Pacific nation.
In his landmark speech at the opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) on Friday, the monarch acknowledged the need to “acknowledge where we have come from”.
He told world leaders at the summit: “None of us can change the past. But we can commit, with all our hearts to learning its lessons and to finding creative ways to right inequalities that endure.”
But Charles stopped short of mentioning financial reparations that some leaders at the event urged for and instead exhorted them to find the “right language” and an understanding of history “to guide us towards making the right choices in future where inequality exists”.
Key Points
- King acknowledges enduring pain of Commonwealth’s past
- Charles and Camilla welcomed to Samoa with traditional tea ceremony
- Commonwealth nations to discuss slavery reparations, climate change
- King Charles lands in Samoa to ceremonial welcome
- King Charles makes cheeky joke to Aussie rugby player
King says he is ‘always devoted to this part of the world’ during Samoa farewell
10:30
Athena Stavrou
The King has said he will “always remain devoted to this part of the world” as he said farewell to Samoa.
Charles and Queen Camilla ended their four-day state visit to Samoa by visiting a village twinned with the UK, as a major Commonwealth summit was hosted by the Pacific nation.
After his landmark speech at the opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) on Friday, the King and his wife took part in a cultural welcome as guests of Siumu village the following day.
He told his guests: “I shall always remain devoted to this part of the world and hope that I survive long enough to come back again and see you all.”
Watch: King Charles and Queen Camilla depart Samoa after first visit as monarchs
09:25
Athena Stavrou
Watch as King Charles III and Queen Camilla departed Samoa on Friday after a four-day visit.
The royal couple visited the Polynesian nation, which is hosting a major gathering of Commonwealth leaders, after their tour of Australia – the first by Charles after his coronation.
King Charles formally opened the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which took place for the first time with him as its head.
Sarah Ferguson becomes first British royal on TikTok with poignant cancer video
06:01
Athena Stavrou
Sarah Ferguson has become the first member of the British royal family to join TikTok.
The Duchess of York, 65, made her debut on the platform with a poignant video reflecting on her breast cancer diagnosis.
Ferguson how she felt “total abject fear” when she received the medical news and recalled not being able to speak as she drove between hospitals.
“I just shut down, I went back into [a] little girl. It was easier not to ask for support and just to deal with it because that’s what I’m used to, that’s what I was taught,” she admitted.
Commonwealth slavery reparations debate: What could the UK be asked to pay?
04:00
Athena Stavrou
Keir Starmer has faced renewed calls for Britain to pay slavery reparations which could far exceed £200bn as the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chgom) in Samoa gets underway.
A group of 15 Caribbean governments, as part of the Caribbean Community or ‘Caricom’ organisation, have all agreed to table reparations on the Chgom agenda when the group meets.
Defying the UK, with Sir Keir saying he does not want to discuss the matter, a draft communique for the summit places it firmly on the agenda, reading: “Heads, noting calls for discussions on reparatory justice with regard to the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans and chattel enslavement… agreed that the time has come for a meaningful, truthful and respectful conversation towards forging a common future based on equity.”
All three candidates for the position of Commonwealth Secretary-General role have supported reparations for transatlantic slavery and colonialism.
Nadine White reports:
What is the Earthshot prize?
02:00
Athena Stavrou
The Earthshot Prize gives five finalists £1 million each to help grow their environmental projects.
A winner is selected from each category or environmental challenge: Protect and Restore Nature, Clean Our Air, Revive Our Oceans, Build A Waste-Free World, and Fix Our Climate.
Both finalists and winners receive dedicated mentorship, resources and support during the year-long Earthshot Prize Fellowship Programme.
In 2021, Costa Rica won the Protect and Restore Nature award.
Since then, the country’s Cocos Island National Park and its surrounding marine protected area expanded to 26 times its size, and the Bicentennial Marine Area covers over 106,000 square kilometres.
Star-studded line-up set for fourth annual celebration of Earthshot Awards
Saturday 26 October 2024 00:02
Athena Stavrou
The fourth annual celebration of the Prince of Wales’s Earthshot prize will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, next month.
This year, Earthshot Week will be hosted by actor and humanitarian Nomzamo Mbatha from November 4 to November 7.
She will be joined by fellow Earthshot Global Ambassador, Australian photographer Robert Irwin, the son of late wildlife conservationist, Steve Irwin.
The award ceremony, taking place on November 6, will be hosted by Grammy, Emmy and Tony award winner Billy Porter and award-winning television presenter Bonang Matheba.
Mr Porter said: “It’s an honour to co-host this year’s Earthshot Prize Awards and help to celebrate this year’s inspiring innovators working to create a better future for everyone. I’m so inspired by the Earthshot community, and I can’t wait to be part of an evening that celebrates creativity, human ingenuity, and artistry in all its different forms.”
Stars set to perform include the Ndlovu Youth Choir, Grammy award winner, Lebo M, Grammy nominated artist and producer, Davido, artist Diamond Platnumz, and DJ and producer Uncle Waffles.
The ceremony and green carpet hosted by media personality Ebuka, Obi-Uchendu, and rapper and TV presenter Moozlie will be available to watch live globally on The Earthshot Prize’s YouTube channel.
On top of that, supermodel and television host Heidi Klum, actor and activist Nina Dobrev, supermodel and beauty entrepreneur Winnie Harlow and artist and actor Tobe Nwigwe will join the broadcast to announce the winners.
King Charles says the Commonwealth mattered ‘a great deal’ to his mother
Friday 25 October 2024 22:00
Athena Stavrou
King Charles said the Commonwealth mattered “a great deal” his late mother Queen Elizabeth II, who was seen as a unifying figure among the body.
Charles attended his first Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, or Chogm as Britain’s head of state yesterday, where he indirectly acknowledged calls from some of Britain’s former colonies for a reckoning over its role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
Britain’s handling of its involvement in the trans-Atlantic slave trade is seen by many observers as a litmus test for the Commonwealth’s adaptation to a modern-day world, as other European nations and some British institutions have started to own up to their role in the trade.
The UK has never formally apologized for its role in the trade, in which millions of African citizens were kidnapped and transported to plantations in the Caribbean and Americas over several centuries, enriching many individuals and companies.
Studies estimate Britain would owe between hundreds of millions and trillions of dollars in compensation to the descendants of slaves.
None of us can change the past but we can commit with all our hearts to learning its lessons and to finding creative ways to write the inequalities that endure,” said Charles.
Tower of London to be lit up with poignant light show over Remembrance period
Friday 25 October 2024 20:00
Athena Stavrou
The Tower of London is to be illuminated with a poignant light show in remembrance of those who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars.
Visitors to the immersive after-dark experience will be invited inside the walls of the famous fortress next month to see the historic White Tower transformed with moving images reflecting on the conflicts.
The Luxmuralis sound and light installation, Poppy Fields at the Tower of London, will run for nine nights, from November 8-16, including Remembrance Day.
Falling poppy petals, silhouettes of soldiers and the World War One military medal “For Bravery in the Field” will be among the artwork lighting up the Tower, accompanied by music and poetry recordings.
Ticketholders will also be granted special access to see the Crown Jewels without the usual crowds, and learn about their removal from the Tower during both world wars.
Husband and wife team behind Princess Diana’s wedding dress settle High Court claim
Friday 25 October 2024 18:30
Athena Stavrou
The fashion designers behind Diana, Princess of Wales’s wedding dress have settled a High Court claim over the sale of the drawings for the famous royal gown.
David Emanuel had filed a lawsuit against his ex-wife Elizabeth Emanuel, claiming that she had infringed his copyright by reproducing drawings of the designs on which they had collaborated. The drawings, including those for Diana’s wedding dress, were put up for auction without his consent, he said.
The one-time husband and wife team announced on Friday that they had settled the case “amicably.” Terms of the settlement weren’t released.
Read the full story here:
Watch: King Charles sips traditional ava root tea during Samoan ceremony
Friday 25 October 2024 16:35
Athena Stavrou
King Charles sipped traditional ava root tea during a Samoan ceremony welcoming him and Queen Camilla to the island nation.
Samoa’s head of state and his village afforded the King the highest accolade by staging an ava ceremony where the drink, prepared by the statesman’s daughter from powdered ava root and representing community unity, was presented to Charles.
The ceremony was held at the National University of Samoa on Wednesday (23 October).
Following custom Charles poured a few drops of the ava away before drinking deeply from a cup, made from a coconut shell, and watched by village elders and dignitaries including Samoa’s prime minister Afioga Fiame Naomi Mata’afa.
Australian senator says Charles holds ‘stolen wealth’ after parliament protest - recap
Friday 25 October 2024 15:46
Athena Stavrou
An Australian senator who protested against the King during his state visit to the country has accused the monarch of refusing to return its “stolen wealth”.
Lidia Thorpe, who campaigns on First Nations issues, disrupted Charles’s welcome to the capital Canberra with an outburst on Monday.
Speaking in an interview with Australian broadcaster ABC on Wednesday, Ms Thorpe defended her actions and said she had been “overwhelmed with supporting messages”.
She said: “For those that don’t agree with what I have said and what I have done, I can tell you now there are elders, there are grassroots Aboriginal people across this country… who are just so proud. They say that it’s lit a fire back in their belly, and they want to join the resistance.
“I don’t listen to the noise of those who have chosen to assimilate into the colonial system, that’s their decision. I’ve decided to be a black sovereign woman and continue our fight against the colony and for justice for our people.”
King Charles warns against threat of climate crisis
Friday 25 October 2024 15:00
Athena Stavrou
King Charles has warned Commonwealth leaders against the “existential” threat of climate change, encouraging all 56 members to do everything possible to cut emissions.
He told the summit that humanity needed to “forge a future of harmony with nature and between ourselves” and that climate concerns have been raised with him over and over again.
“This year alone we have seen terrifying storms in the Caribbean, devastating flooding in East Africa and catastrophic wildfires in Canada,” he told the leaders at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) in Samoa.
“I can only offer every encouragement for action with unequivocal determination to arrest rising temperatures by cutting emissions, building resilience as far as possible to both the current and forecast impacts of climate change, and conserving and restoring nature both on land and in the sea.”
Charles wishes Commonwealth to be a cause of “hope and healing” amid “dark clouds” around the world
Friday 25 October 2024 14:25
Athena Stavrou
King Charles spoke about his wish for the Commonwealth to be a cause of “hope and healing” as he spoke about challenges on a global scale.
The monarch said in his speech: “As we look from this idyllic place across the world, dark clouds have gathered over many regions, but the Commonwealth can surely be a cause of hope and healing…
“International challenges on such a scale call for international solutions, through dialogue and discussion, for that is where, eventually, peace resides.
“The sheer scale and diversity of Commonwealth membership, spanning the entire globe and embracing more than one-third of the human race, gives us the understanding, the credibility and indeed the clout to play a full role in promoting and protecting peace and prosperity.”
Watch: King Charles urges world leaders to ‘right inequalities that endure’
Friday 25 October 2024 13:38
Athena Stavrou
‘Doctor’s orders’ curtailing aim to visit all Commonwealth nations, says Charles
Friday 25 October 2024 13:01
Athena Stavrou
The King’s “lifelong aspiration” is to visit all 56 Commonwealth nations but its expanding membership – and doctor’s orders – have thwarted his efforts.
Charles spoke about his ambition to travel to around a dozen countries missing from his list during a dinner he hosted with the Queen for Commonwealth leaders.
In a speech to those attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) in Samoa, the King said: “It remains a lifelong aspiration to have visited all the countries of the Commonwealth – although nowadays it seems to be a race against our happily increasing numbers – as well as doctor’s orders.”
The event for the King, who has been receiving treatment for cancer since early in the year, was his only evening engagement of his nine-day tour of Australia and New Zealand.
Pictured: World leaders gather at Samoa dinner recpetion
Friday 25 October 2024 12:22
Athena Stavrou
Queen praises staff and volunteers safeguarding victims of abuse in Samoa
Friday 25 October 2024 11:51
Athena Stavrou
The Queen has praised the staff and volunteers safeguarding victims of abuse in Samoa for doing a “wonderful job”.
Camilla visited the Samoa Victims Support Group (SVSG) and toured a small campus where up to 100 abused children are given care and an education, while domestic abuse victims receive support and counselling.
After opening the Queen Camilla Pre-School of Hope, the King’s wife told members of the organisation: “You’re doing such a wonderful job for these children I will go back to Britain with fond memories.”
She suggested possible support for the organisation that relies on donations and fundraising, when she said she would see if she could “help you”.
Camilla toured the pre-school which was filled with donated toys, books and furniture and said: “It’s got everything here, it’s absolutely fantastic.”
Watch: King tells world leaders ‘the past cannot be changed’ in landmark Commonwealth speech
Friday 25 October 2024 11:20
Athena Stavrou
The King has told world leaders the past cannot be changed but nations can “commit” to “right inequalities that endure”.
Charles used his first speech to the Commonwealth’s biennial summit in Samoa as head of the family of nations, to stress how the relationship between member states meant “we can discuss the most challenging issues with openness and respect.”
In his landmark speech on Thursday (24 October), Charles said: “None of us can change the past. But we can commit, with all our hearts to learning its lessons and to finding creative ways to right inequalities that endure.”
Watch here:
No plans to hold weddings for the public at the King’s Balmoral Estate
Friday 25 October 2024 10:50
Athena Stavrou
There are no plans to host weddings for members of the public on the King’s Balmoral Estate, a spokesman for the royal residence has said.
Weddings are mentioned in plans a representative for the Aberdeenshire estate had lodged for the Queen’s Building, on the grounds near Balmoral Castle.
The plans state the venue “may be used for weddings, dinners, meetings and associated events”, which it said would be “rare throughout the year”.
But a spokesman for the estate said: “There are no plans for Balmoral to host weddings as a commercial venture.”
Charles leads a toast at official Commonwealth dinner
Friday 25 October 2024 10:20
Athena Stavrou
King Charles is currently hosting an official dinner and reception for the Commonwealth Heads of Government at the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum.
The monarch appeared to be in good spirits as he was joined by the likes of Sir Keir Starmer as he made a toast following a speech at the even in Apia, Samoa.
King acknowledges enduring pain of Commonwealth’s past
Friday 25 October 2024 09:50
Athena Stavrou
King Charles has acknowledged that the “most painful aspects” the Commonwealth’s past “continue to resonate”, as he indirectly acknowledged growing calls for slavery reprations in Samoa.
The gathering of presidents and prime ministers for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) could see member states begin a “meaningful conversation” about the issue of reparations for slavery, according to reports.
The monarch acknowledged the need to “right inequalites that endure” as he told world leaders at the summit: “None of us can change the past. But we can commit, with all our hearts to learning its lessons and to finding creative ways to right inequalities that endure.”
He added: “Our cohesion requires that we acknowledge where we have come from. I understand, from listening to people across the Commonwealth, how the most painful aspects of our past continue to resonate.”
Pictured: King Charles III and Queen Camilla host an official dinner and reception
Friday 25 October 2024 09:00
Athena Stavrou
Commonwealth connections ‘more previous than ever’ in time of ‘horrifying conflict’, says King
Friday 25 October 2024 08:27
Athena Stavrou
The King has told world leaders about the importance of “connections” in a time of “ heightened global tensions” and “horrifying conflict”.
Charles used his first speech to the Commonwealth’s biennial summit in Samoa as head of the family of nations, to stress the importance of their relationships.
“At a time of heightened global tensions, of horrifying conflict and challenges of the greatest magnitude, it seems to me that these connections between us are more precious than ever,” he told the gathered leaders.
King toils away deep into the night, Queen jokes
Friday 25 October 2024 08:00
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Long after the Queen has gone to sleep, the King can be found “toiling” away into the small hours.
That’s what Queen Camilla joked of her 75-year-old husband’s diligence, as she gave a speech praising the work ethic of women.
At an event in Samoa led by leading domestic abuse campaigners from around the world, Camilla told the audience the legend of the men and women who were tasked with thatching the roof of Samoan chief Tautunu’s house.
“Although they started at the same time, the women finished their side first, as they had laboured through the night, while the men slept,” she told attendees of the women’s forum event at the major summit for Commonwealth leaders in Samoa.
“As one whose husband is often toiling into the small hours, long after my head is on the pillow, I should stress there are plenty of exceptions,” she added.
“But the moral of the proverb is: Women will turn their hands successfully to any task that must be done; and will work hard until it is completed.”
Indigenous Australian senator intensifies criticism of King Charles
Friday 25 October 2024 07:30
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
An Indigenous senator has intensified her criticism of King Charles, again accusing the British monarch of complicity in the “genocide” against Australia’s First Nations peoples and declaring on Wednesday she will not be “shut down.”
Sen. Lidia Thorpe’s comments followed an encounter with the monarch at a parliamentary reception Monday where she was escorted out after shouting at him for British colonizers taking Indigenous land and bones.
Despite facing political and public backlash, Thorpe was resolute in a television interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and said she would continue to press for justice.
More here.
In Pics: King Charles officially open The King’s Garden in Apia
Friday 25 October 2024 07:00
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
King Charles explores Samoan Cultural Village
Friday 25 October 2024 06:40
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Celebrating fa’a Samoa!
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) October 25, 2024
It was a wonderful afternoon exploring the showcase of traditional arts, crafts, culture and enterprise at the Samoan Cultural Village! pic.twitter.com/hL2OjQG6fG
Watch: Alpaca sneezes on King Charles during walkabout in Australia
Friday 25 October 2024 06:20
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
An alpaca sneezed on King Charles III as he greeted crowds on a walkabout in Canberra, Australia.
Owner Robert Fletcher brought nine-year-old alpaca Hefner to meet the monarch outside the Australian War Memorial.
Hefner was calmly waiting — wearing a crown and a gold bow tie — before leaving the King “in disbelief” with a sneeze after Charles stroked his nose.
King Charles says the Commonwealth mattered 'a great deal' to his mother
Friday 25 October 2024 05:50
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
King Charles said the Commonwealth mattered “a great deal” his late mother Queen Elizabeth II, who was seen as a unifying figure among the body.
Charles attended his first Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, or Chogm as Britain’s head of state yesterday, where he indirectly acknowledged calls from some of Britain’s former colonies for a reckoning over its role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
Britain’s handling of its involvement in the trans-Atlantic slave trade is seen by many observers as a litmus test for the Commonwealth’s adaptation to a modern-day world, as other European nations and some British institutions have started to own up to their role in the trade.
The UK has never formally apologized for its role in the trade, in which millions of African citizens were kidnapped and transported to plantations in the Caribbean and Americas over several centuries, enriching many individuals and companies.
Studies estimate Britain would owe between hundreds of millions and trillions of dollars in compensation to the descendants of slaves.
None of us can change the past but we can commit with all our hearts to learning its lessons and to finding creative ways to write the inequalities that endure,” said Charles.
Commonwealth slavery reparations debate: What could the UK be asked to pay?
Friday 25 October 2024 05:29
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Keir Starmer has faced renewed calls for Britain to pay slavery reparations which could far exceed £200bn as the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chgom) in Samoa gets underway.
A group of 15 Caribbean governments, as part of the Caribbean Community or ‘Caricom’ organisation, have all agreed to table reparations on the Chgom agenda when the group meets.
Defying the UK, with Sir Keir saying he does not want to discuss the matter, a draft communique for the summit places it firmly on the agenda, reading: “Heads, noting calls for discussions on reparatory justice with regard to the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans and chattel enslavement… agreed that the time has come for a meaningful, truthful and respectful conversation towards forging a common future based on equity.”
All three candidates for the position of Commonwealth Secretary-General role have supported reparations for transatlantic slavery and colonialism.
Nadine White reports.
King Charles warns against threat of climate crisis
Friday 25 October 2024 04:53
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
King Charles has warned Commonwealth leaders against the “existential” threat of climate change, encouraging all 56 members to do everything possible to cut emissions.
He told the summit that humanity needed to “forge a future of harmony with nature and between ourselves” and that climate concerns have been raised with him over and over again.
“This year alone we have seen terrifying storms in the Caribbean, devastating flooding in East Africa and catastrophic wildfires in Canada,” he told the leaders at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) in Samoa.
“I can only offer every encouragement for action with unequivocal determination to arrest rising temperatures by cutting emissions, building resilience as far as possible to both the current and forecast impacts of climate change, and conserving and restoring nature both on land and in the sea.”
Indigenous Australian senator intensifies criticism of King Charles III
Thursday 24 October 2024 22:58
Alex Croft
An Indigenous senator has intensified her criticism of King Charles, again accusing the British monarch of complicity in the “genocide” against Australia’s First Nations peoples and declaring on Wednesday she will not be “shut down.”
Sen. Lidia Thorpe’s comments followed an encounter with the monarch at a parliamentary reception Monday where she was escorted out after shouting at him for British colonizers taking Indigenous land and bones.
Despite facing political and public backlash, Thorpe was resolute in a television interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and said she would continue to press for justice.
Read the full report: