King Charles sends congratulations to Grenada in first public message

King Charles has despatched a congratulatory message to Grenada to mark 50 years of their independence in his first public assertion since his shock most cancers prognosis.

The monarch, 75, who’s at the moment recuperating at Sandringham following his first most cancers remedy, put tensions surrounding slavery reparations to the aspect as he praised the nation’s ‘management, resilience and innovation’.

The Caribbean nations have been stated to be within the course of of constructing formal calls for to the Royal Family for slavery reparations, it has been reported.

Rather than attempting to barter inter-governmental agreements, a number of nations wish to put their case on to descendants of these thought to have benefited from slavery, together with King Charles.

The Church of England, Lloyd’s of London and rich universities are additionally within the crosshairs, in line with Arley Gill, chairman of the Grenada National Reparations Committee.

But placing the problems at hand to the aspect, the King apologised that he couldn’t ‘be with you in individual’ to have a good time the ‘momentous milestone’. 

He additionally stated that he holds ‘particular recollections’ after visiting the island 5 years in the past. 

King Charles has despatched a congratulatory message to Grenada to mark 50 years of their independence in his first public assertion since his shock most cancers prognosis (Pictured in Grenada in 2019)

The monarch, 75, put tensions surrounding slavery reparations to the aspect as he praised the nation’s ‘management, resilience and innovation’

His full assertion learn: ‘On the event of the fiftieth Anniversary of the Independence of Grenada, it offers me nice pleasure to ship you all my congratulations and warmest good needs.

‘Over these previous 5 a long time, I’ve watched with the deepest admiration as you’ve constructed your nation and cast Grenada’s distinct place on the earth, and as an important member of our Commonwealth household.

‘Together, you’ve established Grenada as an exemplar of democracy, human rights and the rule of legislation. Together, you’ve risen to essentially the most important challenges of local weather change and biodiversity loss by providing the world an instance of management, resilience and innovation. Together, you’ve given life to the phrases of your nationwide anthem: “Aspire, build, advance!”

‘My spouse and I maintain such particular recollections of our go to to your stunning ‘Spice Island’ 5 years in the past, and of the nice and cozy and touching welcome you prolonged to us. Then, as every time I’ve met Grenadians wherever on the earth, I used to be struck by your resilience, the power of your group and by your shared willpower to make a optimistic distinction.

‘In this Grenadian spirit you’ll be able to take the best pleasure. Whether by the exceptional contributions of Grenada’s artists, musicians and authors, or the triumphs of your athletes, al1 of whom have loved such extraordinary success, ‘473 to the World’ is an inspiration to us all.

‘I can solely say how sorry I’m that I can’t be with you in individual to mark this momentous milestone, and to get pleasure from just a little Oil Down with you all! My ideas are with everybody throughout Grenada, Carriacou and Petit Martinique, and all these within the Grenadian diaspora – ‘one folks, one household’ – as you have a good time all the pieces you’ve achieved and all that your future holds. My household be part of me in sending our heartfelt congratulations to you all. Charles R’.

The King apologised that he couldn’t ‘be with you in individual’ to have a good time the ‘momentous milestone’

He additionally stated that he holds ‘particular recollections’ after visiting the island 5 years in the past

Late final 12 months, it was reported that Caribbean nations would make formal calls for to the Royal Family for slavery reparations by the tip of the 12 months.

Arley Gill, chairman of the Grenada National Reparations Committee stated: ‘We are hoping that King Charles will revisit the problem of reparations and make a extra profound assertion, starting with an apology, and that he would make sources from the Royal Family accessible for reparative justice,’ he advised the Daily Telegraph.

‘He ought to make some cash accessible. We usually are not saying that he ought to starve himself and his household, and we aren’t asking for trinkets. But we imagine we will sit round a desk and focus on what might be made accessible for reparative justice.’

The Reparations Commission for St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) intends to start out issuing formal calls for for reparations by the tip of this 12 months, it was claimed. The Royal Family can be more likely to be squarely within the sights of SVG, which like Grenada was a British colony.

Its reparation fee chairman, Adrian Odle, stated that ‘each property that the Royal Family is in possession of has the scent of slavery’.

The marketing campaign has been given impetus by the choice of former BBC correspondent Laura Trevelyan to donate cash and apologise to the folks of Grenada for her household’s position within the historic slave commerce.

‘My household, the Trevelyans, owned about 1,000 slaves on 5 totally different sugar plantations in Grenada within the seventeenth and 18th centuries’, she stated final 12 months.

‘When slavery was abolished in 1834, our household acquired compensation from the British authorities for the lack of our property, as a part of 46,000 UK claims made to the Slave Compensation Commission. We acquired about £3 million in at the moment’s cash. The enslaved acquired nothing.’

One of the Royal Family’s most frequently cited hyperlinks to slavery was the Royal African Company, which enslaved and transported tons of of hundreds from Africa to the Americas.

King Charles final 12 months stated he felt ‘private sorrow on the struggling of so many’, however he didn’t go as far as an apology.

However, he has by no means publicly dominated out reparations.

The Dutch king, Willem-Alexander, has apologised for the Netherlands’ involvement in slavery, saying he ‘felt the burden of the phrases in my coronary heart and my soul’.

King Charles is claimed to be concerned with understanding the outcomes of an educational research exploring the connection between the British monarchy and the slave commerce within the seventeenth and 18th centuries.