Prince watches as Barbados becomes a republic
THE Royal Standard was lowered in Barbados in the early hours of this morning as the Caribbean island became a republic.
In a speech to mark the occasion, the Prince of Wales was expected to admit slavery was an ‘atrocity which forever stains our history’.
Charles flew to the tropical island as the representative of its head of state, the Queen, and was greeted in the middle of Sunday night with a 21-gun salute.
Today, after the ceremony at midnight (4am GMT) in the capital Bridgetown, he is simply a visiting dignitary. Exactly 55 years after Barbados gained independence, Charles was due to say he respected it becoming a republic but was delighted it was staying in the Commonwealth. The Queen sent her own message offering the island ‘my warmest good wishes for your happiness, peace and prosperity in the future’.