King Charles laughed when he was presented with a T-shirt showing him wearing boxing shorts, gloves and a crown on the second day of his visit to the Bahamas.
Charles, joined by the nation's Prime Minister Philip Davis and minister for sports Mario Bowleg, visited the Bahamas Boxing Academy in the Yellow Elder district of New Providence. The academy opened in April 2026 on the Queen Elizabeth sporting complex to provide young Bahamians with opportunities through sport, mentoring and education. Davis has championed the academy and described boxing as being deeply rooted in the "Bahamian DNA."
Gift of a boxing T-shirt
Charles watched a youth boxing session in the training area and met young athletes and their trainers by the boxing bags, including Sanai Miller, 12, and his coach, Jermaine Gibson, members of the All Out Boxing Club who train at the academy.
Both wore black T-shirts emblazoned with an image of Charles in a "gloves up" stance, wearing purple boxing shorts, a boxing vest and a crown. Charles said "Ha," pointing and laughing at the shirts. Jermaine told him: "We made one for you, I had it made last night."
Accepting the gift, Charles, still laughing, replied: "How generous." Afterwards, Gibson said: "We gave him one of his own, he said it was really good."
Watching sparring sessions
Accompanied by head coach Kieshna Major, Charles also watched a sparring session with younger members of the academy, including Jayda Burrows, 16, who told him how she does two hours of training after school most days. He told her: "And are you getting better and better? It looks like it."
Charles was then shown mounted photographs on the walls of Bahamian boxing champions through the ages, before heading to the outdoor boxing ring to see another sparring session. He also met more young boxers, coaches, members of local boxing clubs and Bahamas boxing champions, including Steve Larrimore, who competed at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games and won Commonwealth and Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medals in 1982, and Jermaine "Chu Chu" Mackey, whose accolades include the Bahamian supermiddleweight title, WBA and WBC Caribbean champion and a Commonwealth title.
Speaking to a group of young children who also train at the academy, he said: "Is it a good excuse to get you out of school?" After spending time shaking hands with trustees of the academy and Bahamian sports figures, Charles unveiled a plaque marking his visit.
Before leaving, he joined the Minister for Social Services Barbara Cartwright for a private meeting with wards of the state from a local children's home, who are supported by the academy and enrolled on its youth boxing programmes.
Garden party and welcome home
The King was later told "welcome home" as he arrived at a Garden Party at Government House in the Bahamas. Charles arrived in the gardens by car and walked to stand in a marquee for a welcome prayer.
Laish Boyd, the Diocesan Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of The Bahamas and The Turks & Caicos Islands, led the congregation of officials with a prayer. Bishop Boyd said: "Thank you for our cherished relationship with the United Kingdom, historically and in the present. We celebrate the good that this connection has brought to both of us over the centuries. And we recognise that there have been some not so good fruit for both of us. We thank you, we ask your blessing upon King Charles III, whom we welcome in Bahama land today. Upon his family and his country. Lord bless his time here. May it enrich him and us."
Governor General Dame Cynthia spoke fondly of the king, saying "your majesty, may your reign be long" before realising she was too far from the microphone. Continuing, she said: "I'm going to say that loud so you can hear me Your Majesty, may your reign be long, blessed and marked by peace across the Commonwealth. Your Majesty, Sir, welcome home to the Bahamas."
The governor general also said in her short remarks that she hopes his royal visit "further strengthens the enduring bonds of friendship between the Crown and the Bahamian people."
He was then swamped by excited Bahamians as he made his way to complete a ceremonial planting of the national tree of The Bahamas, the Lignum Vitae, with young representatives from the Family Islands. Each of them had brought soil from their island to be planted with the tree.
The King then slowly made his way through the crowds, as his security team struggled to keep the guests at a safe distance, spending some 20 minutes chatting and shaking hands. Guests were chosen because they had made significant contributions through voluntary, public, community and charitable service.
