King receives surprise honour in Samoa on final leg of royal tour
The King and Queen are in Samoa for the last visit of their royal tour, as ITV News' Royal Editor Chris Ship reports
Samoa has laid on a warm pacific welcome for King Charles and Queen Camilla who are both in this island state for their first official visit.
The small country, of only 200,000 people, is stretching every resource to cope with the State Visit from the King and Queen as well as hosting delegations from 56 countries who are here for a Commonwealth summit.
It has meant they have squeezed the visit itinerary into one day - from the traditional welcome ceremony to mangrove plantations and formal meetings with politicians.
The King changed out of his regular formal suit, choosing a bush-style jacket with a Samoan design to better suit the relaxed dress code on the island.
A ceremony reserved only for monarchs was put on by villagers from the home of Samoa’s head of state which involved giving the King the traditional ‘ava drink made from the dried bark of the Fau tree.
He was also made a “king” of a village where village elders bestowed the title of Tui Taumeasina on him – which translates as high chief of the village of Moata’a.
He had come to the village to see the work they were doing to restore mangrove reserves to make the coastline more climate resilient and protect them from storm surges and cyclones.
Small island nations like Samoa are uniquely vulnerable to the effects of climate change and rising sea levels.
It made for a day of colour and tradition as the King and Queen saw as much of Samoa as they possibly could before the formalities of the Commonwealth Heads of Government summit gets underway on Friday.
Sir Keir Starmer is also in Samoa and will join the King at a reception for newly installed government leaders since the last Commonwealth summit in Rwanda in 2022.
It’s the first time King Charles will preside over the summit as Head of the Commonwealth – a role he assumed upon the death of his mother.
There are some notable absentees from this CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting. The Indian Prime Minister is choosing to attend a summit hosted by President Putin in Russia rather than attend the Commonwealth summit.
Many, but not all of, the 56 nations of the Commonwealth were former countries in the British Empire and the late Queen Elizabeth was passionate about supporting it.
There were just eight Commonwealth member countries at the start of her reign in 1952 – there are now 56.
But if countries choose not to send their president or prime minister to CHOGM, it will leave the organisation struggling to prove its worth in the 21st century.
A new Secretary-General will be chosen at this summit to replace Baroness Patricia Scotland.
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The three candidates are all from Africa: Ghana, Gambia and Lesotho and they will be much more sympathetic to calls from Commonwealth countries in the Caribbean, like Barbados, for the issue of reparations.
The British government has acknowledged the atrocities of the slave trade but has not apologised for it as it would leave it exposed to compensation claims.
Before the tricky diplomatic task ahead, the King and Queen have enjoyed their welcome in the country.
They are honoured to be hosting both King Charles and 56 Commonwealth countries despite being such a small nation.
Cruise ships have been hired in and docked in the harbour and used as temporary hotels for delegates.
There is no military here – so police from other neighbouring countries have been drafted in.
And there are so many planes here that they are having to be temporarily parked in an airbase in American Samoa – a US territory to the east of the country.
This is the Talking Royals - our weekly podcast about the royal family, with ITV News Royal Editor Chris Ship and Producer Lizzie Robinson