Royal news live: King Charles says past can’t be changed as calls for slavery reparation grow in Samoa
The King drank the mildly intoxicating narcotic root drink kava at a traditional ritual in Samoa
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King Charles said the past cannot be changed as he indirectly acknowledged calls from some of Britain’s former colonies for a reckoning over its role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
The British royal understood “the most painful aspects of our past continue to resonate”, he told leaders at a summit of Commonwealth countries in Samoa.
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”.
Earlier in the day, Charles enjoyed a truly royal welcome as he was declared the “High Chief” of his Pacific realm in a traditional Samoan village.
Surrounded by tattooed and bare-chested Samoans in traditional garments, Charles and Queen Camilla appeared delighted by the colourful ceremony as they visited the Moata’a Village on day five of the 11 day tour of Australia and Samoa.
The King, dressed in white safari-style gear, was offered a mildly-intoxicating narcotic root drink in a half coconut, known locally as “kava”, a vital element of Pacific culture.
Charles and Camilla welcomed to Samoa with traditional tea ceremony
King Charles to face climate protests and calls for reparations as he heads to Samoa for Commonwealth summit
King Charles lands in Samoa to ceremonial welcome ahead of Commonwealth summit
King Charles’s poignant comments about Australian Indigenous people before senator accused him of ‘genocide’
King Charles heckled: What Indigenous Australian artefacts does Britain still possess?
King to tell world leaders at Commonwealth summit that unity is their strength
The King is expected to tell world leaders that unity is their strength, enabling them to tackle the “demands of our time”, when he officially opens a major Commonwealth summit for the first time.
Charles will address presidents and prime ministers when he launches the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) in Samoa on Friday, saying “all nations are equal in this unique and voluntary association” which “is committed to developing free and democratic societies”.
The event will be a milestone moment for the UK’s head of state, who is expected to highlight the purpose and strengths of the “family of nations”.
He is also expected to speak about the importance of recognising and understanding the path of history, and where that may have given rise to contemporary challenges.
Indigenous Australian senator intensifies criticism of King Charles III
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:
Indigenous Australian senator intensifies criticism of King Charles III
An Indigenous senator has intensified her criticism of King Charles III, again accusing the British monarch of complicity in the “genocide” against Australia’s First Peoples and declaring she will not be “shut down.”
King toils away deep into the night, Queen jokes
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.”
Camilla visits one of Samoa’s ‘earliest primary education programmes'
Queen Camilla spent time with schoolchildren today during her visit to a Samoan village.
The royal family said in a post on X: “The aoga faifeau was one of the earliest primary education programmes in Samoa, and the country’s high literacy levels are often attributed to the scheme.
“In Moata’a Village, The Queen spent time with schoolchildren, as they sang songs and told Her Majesty more about what they have learnt recently.”
Slave trade reparations could be discussed at Commonwealth meeting
Reparations for the slave trade could be discussed as Commonwealth heads of government convene in Samoa for the leaders’ summit.
British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer touched down Samoa overnight on Thursday for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm).
The Commonwealth leaders are expected to agree plans to discuss reparations as they look at an agreement which could open up the conversation through a communique, the BBC reported.
It comes despite Downing Street previously claiming the issue would not be on the agenda.
Mr Starmer said ahead of travelling to the Pacific island: “On the question of which way we’re facing I think we should be facing forward,” he told reporters.
“I’ve talked to a lot of our Commonwealth colleagues in the Commonwealth family and they’re facing real challenges on things like climate in the here and now.”
While reparations are not formally on the agenda, conversations on the wording for a communique are possible.
In pictures: Charles visits O Le Pupu-Pue National Park
Why was a remote Moata’a village in Samoa chosen to welcome royals?
The Polynesian country of Samoa is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change including tropical cyclones and storm surges, flooding, and more severe and longer-lasting droughts like other Small Island Developing States.
Moata’a village was chosen to welcome the royals after the area was badly affected by flooding in 2018 and in response the community’s council developed a plan for future natural disasters and has established a mangrove conservation area which the King visited.
Moata’a village chief Tofaeono Lupati Fuatai said: “The King is the perfect advocate for us as a nation. Climate change is real, it is now and we must urge the world to acknowledge how perilous it is for nations such as ours.”
ICYMI: Husband and wife team behind Princess Diana’s wedding dress settle High Court claim
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 report:
Husband and wife team behind Princess Diana’s wedding dress settle High Court claim
David Emanuel brought legal action against his ex-wife and business partner Elizabeth Emanuel
Pictured: Charles meets Samoan head of state
Mike Tindall reveals what the late Queen was like behind closed doors
Mike Tindall, the late Queen’s grandson-in-law, says the Queen’s life “wasn’t like an episode of Downton Abbey”.
The world cup winning rugby union player, who is married to the Queen’s granddaughtr Zara Tindall, revealed what the Queen was like behind closed doors in his joint book ‘The Good, The Bad and The Rugby - Unleashed’, released alongside podcast co-hosts James Haskell and Alex Payne.
"I'm sometimes asked if the Queen did informality like 'normal' people, and the answer to that is yes,” Mr Tindall said.
“Her life wasn't like an episode of Downton Abbey, with meals on long tables and everyone dressed in their finery every night, and Zara and I would often watch the racing with her on TV, as I'm sure lots of people reading this have done with their gran.
"Lunches were also relaxed, especially up in Scotland, where lunch would often be heading out into the open space of the Scottish Highlands for a picnic.
"There's a great picture of my daughter Mia sitting with the Duke of Edinburgh that captures exactly what those afternoons were like: members of a very close family who loved each other dearly spending precious time together. Yes, there's a lot of drama surrounding the royal family, but they aren't much different to anyone else underneath it all,” he added.
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