Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived in Samoa on Wednesday, marking the start of their visit to the Pacific island nation, where Charles will be honored with the title of high chief. Their arrival comes after a six-day tour of Australia, and they are set to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
The royal couple was greeted on the runway by Samoan Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa and other dignitaries. A band played “God Save the King,” after which King Charles inspected a guard of honor provided by Samoan police, as the country does not maintain an armed force. The couple’s visit to Samoa highlights King Charles’ role as the symbolic head of the Commonwealth, a group of 56 nations with deep historical ties to the British Empire.
Focus on Climate Change and Ocean Protection
This visit aligns with the annual Commonwealth summit, where small states, including many Pacific island nations, make up more than half of the membership. A key focus of the summit will be climate change, a critical issue for island nations like Samoa that are already experiencing the effects of rising sea levels. The leaders are expected to issue a declaration on protecting the oceans, underscoring the Commonwealth’s commitment to environmental preservation.
King Charles, who has spent much of his life advocating for environmental causes, will personally witness the impact of climate change during his visit. He will be led on a tour of a mangrove reserve to see firsthand how rising sea levels are threatening local communities. According to Lenatai Victor Tamapua, a Samoan chief and member of parliament, “The king tide today is about twice what it was 20, 30 years ago. And that is affecting our land… and people (have to) move inwards, inland now.”
High Chief Title for King Charles
As part of the visit, Charles will be offered the title of high chief, a significant honor in Samoan culture. Tamapua, who plans to bestow the title of “Tui Taumeasina” during a traditional ceremonial welcome on Thursday, spoke of the king’s long-standing commitment to environmental issues, which resonate strongly in Pacific island nations dealing with the dire consequences of climate change.
This honor follows a recent controversy in Australia, where an Indigenous senator accused Charles of “genocide” during his visit to Canberra. Despite this, his tour of Australia marked an important moment for the British monarchy, as it was King Charles’ first foreign tour as sovereign and the first visit by a British monarch to Australia in 13 years.
Commonwealth Discussions and Reparations
Although climate change will dominate the discussions, another key issue is reparations for historical transatlantic slavery, a subject raised by Caribbean nations. While Britain has stated that it will not bring this issue to the CHOGM table, it remains open to discussions with leaders interested in addressing it.
As the symbolic leader of the Commonwealth, King Charles’ engagement with these diverse issues highlights the evolving nature of the Commonwealth and its continued relevance in addressing modern challenges like climate change and historical injustices.