Breaking news: King Charles accepts ‘painful aspects of our past’ as he bids farewell to Samoa

King Charles III acknowledged the “most painful aspects” of the Commonwealth’s past as he bid goodbye to Samoa after indirectly acknowledging growing calls for slavery reprations in Samoa.

Charles and Queen Camilla ended their four-day state visit to Samoa by visiting a village twinned with the UK after attending a major Commonwealth summit was hosted by the Pacific nation.

In his landmark speech at the opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) on Friday, the monarch acknowledged the need to “acknowledge where we have come from”.

He told world leaders at the summit: “None of us can change the past. But we can commit, with all our hearts to learning its lessons and to finding creative ways to right inequalities that endure.”

But Charles stopped short of mentioning financial reparations that some leaders at the event urged for and instead exhorted them to find the “right language” and an understanding of history “to guide us towards making the right choices in future where inequality exists”.