The Prime Minister of The Bahamas has said he is open to the country becoming a republic and dropping King Charles as head of state, describing the monarchy's future there as "a question for my people".
Philip Davis made the remarks after the King completed a two-day visit to the island nation earlier this week, during which Charles spoke of the shared history and deep bond between the two nations. Despite the warm welcome, Mr Davis said he would be "guided by the will" of Bahamians on whether to pursue a new future.
The Prime Minister also addressed growing calls across the Caribbean for the King to apologise for slavery and for reparations to be paid.
Reparations and the King's response
Mr Davis said the King "acts on the advice of his government" and was awaiting that advice until what he called "respectful dialogue" on reparations was complete. He said repair "is not absolutely money, simply, money" and could mean "acknowledgement, education, training, things of that nature."
He pointed to research tracing the largest export of cotton to Liverpool back to a plantation on Long Cay, near Crooked Island, and said the family "might want to consider" repair. But he admitted financial reparations could be "challenging for government", adding: "As a citizen, I would question why my tax payment ought to go to satisfy the debt of my ancestors 200 years ago."
Asked whether the slave trade was lawful at the time, he said: "I don't think so." He cited the King's Trust providing scholarships for Commonwealth citizens to study at Commonwealth universities, saying: "That could be a form of repair."
Republic question and referendum
On his visit, the King made clear that leaders at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) will discuss matters around the legacy of slavery next week in Antigua and Barbuda. His comments, made in an interview with Sky News, came days after he began a nine-day Caribbean tour in Nassau, his first official visit to The Bahamas as monarch.
Asked whether The Bahamas still wanted the King as head of state, Mr Davis said: "I think we have some very passionate Bahamians who say we should be a republic. Equally, we have many passionate Bahamians saying that we ought not to rid ourselves of part of our history." He said any move to a republic would require a referendum, adding: "Referendum in this country is not fared well, but that question would be a question for our people."
Within hours of touching down in Nassau on Tuesday, Charles made a speech at a youth rally where he said "It is only right that we acknowledge the great suffering of the past in these islands and beyond". However, before the King left Britain, talk of his visits to The Bahamas, Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda was dominated by calls for the monarch to deliver an apology for Britain and the monarchy's historic role in the slave trade as well as calls on the government to pay reparations. Activists in The Bahamas said the King had not gone far enough with his speech and said the issues were far from being resolved.
Davis's position and next steps
Mr Davis, who was re-elected in May, said a vote on the monarchy was not currently on the table because "my mandate did not include a referendum on whether we should keep the King or not." But he added: "If it comes up, certainly, but again, I'll be guided by the will of my people."
Pressed on his own view, he said he was "quite agnostic" about the issue. When asked whether he would be open to losing the King as head of state, he replied: "I'm open to it, yes." And to those in Britain who believe there is no need for an apology, he said: "I think they have to appreciate the weight of that history and that ancestors like ourselves continue to bear."
The Bahamas gained independence in July 1973. On his visit this week the King returned to Clifford Park, where he last officially appeared as Prince of Wales in 1973 when the country gained independence after 300 years of British rule. On that occasion he delivered a formal message from Queen Elizabeth II to Bahamians. Mr Davis said the country had "thrived" since then. "We have a tremendous advancement, development, and you can see how we have developed," he said.
His remarks suggest the nation's relationship with the Crown could yet take a different course, following Barbados, which became a republic in 2021. After The Bahamas, the King's tour moves on to Guyana and then Antigua and Barbuda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, where Queen Camilla will join him.
