King promises to come back to Samoa 'if he survives'
King Charles has pledged to return to the Pacific island of Samoa, as long as he survives “long enough” he said.
The King and Queen ended their intense Royal Tour of Australia and Samoa in hammering rain in a village close to where they had been staying.
In Samoa, they say rain is a blessing and, if that is the case, this village was truly blessed today.
It rained so much that the scene unfolding before her sent Queen Camilla into one of her fits of giggles.
The King said he will “always remain devoted to this part of the world” as he bid farewell to Samoa after spending three days here and addressing his first Commonwealth summit as the new Head of the Commonwealth.
Samoa became the first Pacific island to host the biennial gathering of the 56 Commonwealth nations.
The summit was dominated by discussions over whether Britain should pay reparations to countries affected by the transatlantic slave trade.
The British government thinks about reparative justice in a different way to the Caribbean nations to where many of the slaves were shipped from western Africa.
The Commonwealth leaders gathered here, also agreed on a new Secretary-General, who comes from West Africa, to replace the outgoing Patricia Scotland.
The new Secretary General will be Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, who is currently the Foreign Affairs Minister for Ghana.
The next Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit will be hosted by a Caribbean country, Antigua and Barbuda, so along with the newly-installed Secretary-General, the issues of slavery and reparations will continue into the next summit.
Charles used his first major speech as head of the “family of nations” to highlight how the “most painful aspects of our past continue to resonate” with the people of the Commonwealth.
Each village across this small island, which has a total population not dissimilar to Southampton or Gateshead, had adopted one of the 56 Commonwealth nations and the King and Queen said farewell in the village of Siumu which had adopted the UK.
After being made a high chief of the village, the King told his guests: “I shall always remain devoted to this part of the world and hope that I survive long enough to come back again and see you all.”
As the rain turned the red carpet into a river, Charles told his hosts:: “We’ve been so impressed by the beautiful way in which all the villages have decorated the roadsides, it is something very special about Samoa.”
He said he and Camilla would take away “special memories of our time here”.
The ceremony involved the King drinking a cup of powdered ‘ava or kava root, signifying unity.
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The King was honoured with the chiefly title of To’aiga-O-Tumua by the village’s high chief.
“May God bless this kava,” said Charles as he lifted the cup and drank.
The chief told Charles: “Your papa, Prince Philip, was here, so thank you for making the time. Your royal visit has liftedour house.”
As the rain continued to hammer down, something gave Camilla the giggles. The microphones had stopped working, the press were soaked, but the show went on.
The Queen tried to use her fan to shield her smiles but she was unable to hide her tears of laughter.
Samoa, and Australia before it, have easily been the most important overseas tour of the King’s reign so far.
There were difficult and delicate moments, like the protest from an Australian indigenous senator and debates with Caribbean nations about slavery but a King of a former Empire will always have to address difficult issues of the past.
But in the village of Siumu, they had an excuse for a party and it went on long after their royal guests had left.
This is the Talking Royals - our weekly podcast about the royal family, with ITV News Royal Editor Chris Ship and Producer Lizzie Robinson