In the aftermath, William appeared to distance himself from the institution his father and grandmother had championed. “Who the Commonwealth chooses to lead its family in the future isn’t what is on my mind,” he said at the time.
Last week, those close to the prince reaffirmed that stance. “The position hasn’t changed,” sources told the Times, raising profound questions about what becomes of the 56-nation organisation once Charles’s reign ends.
The King’s itinerary will take him first to Nassau, then to Georgetown, Guyana’s capital, where he will mark six decades of the country’s independence in a meeting with President Ali. He will proceed to Antigua and Barbuda, where the Queen and the Prime Minister will join him for CHOGM, which he will formally open on November 3 in St John’s.
At each stop, Britain’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade and growing calls for reparations will dominate the agenda. Palace sources say Charles will “not shy away” from the subject, seeking opportunities to “reflect and renew his personal, wholehearted, and continuing commitment” to recognising the “darkest days of our past”.