King Charles has apologised for the four-hundred-year wait for a reigning monarch to visit Bermuda, as he concluded his state visit by launching a UK Space Agency project to track space debris. During his final day on the island, the King was scheduled to visit a new UKSA observatory, where he learned about plans for a global network of telescopes across five sites monitoring old satellites, rocket stages, and other orbiting objects.
Apology at Garden Party
On Friday evening, the King attended a garden party at Government House, where he told guests: "I am told to my amazement it is also the first time in Bermuda's four-hundred-year history that the islands have received a reigning King. I am terribly sorry it has taken so long!" The event was held at Government House, which has been newly refurbished, prompting the King to remark that it still smelled of fresh paint.
Toast to Bermuda
Raising a toast, the King said: "I need hardly say that Bermuda, like all the Overseas Territories, is a most cherished and important member of the British family – with a friendship as solid as this so-called 'Rock'."
Official Engagements
Later on his final day, His Majesty opened the new Great Bay Coast Guard Station, where he was briefed on the Royal Bermuda Regiment's Coast Guard's vital work protecting the island's territorial waters and marine environment. He also viewed their new unmanned underwater and aerial vehicles. Young people from the Junior Leader programme discussed their involvement, and before leaving, the King awarded operational service medals to five regiment members for their commitment to protecting the island.
Cultural and Historical Exhibits
During a whirlwind series of events across the island, the King was shown slavery artefacts from Bermuda's past, including neck irons from the 1500s, at the 1850 Ordnance House, part of the National Museum of Bermuda. The display traced the island's darker history, with a cabinet dedicated to trade, slavery, and conquest. Charles received a warm welcome from thousands of well-wishers in St George's, the former capital, during a ceremonial greeting full of military pomp. He also met youth groups, conservationists, local leaders, and Bermuda-born Michael Frith, designer of many Muppets characters, along with his wife Kathryn Mullen.
