King and Queen arrive in Samoa to red carpet welcome

King Charles has arrived in Samoa for a four-day state visit where he will preside for the first time over a gathering of Commonwealth presidents and prime ministers.

Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa greeted the King and Queen Camilla at Faleolo International Airport where a red carpet had been rolled out amid high winds and last-minute vacuum cleaning.

The Royal Samoan Police Band began playing as the couple alighted and met local officials.

The King and Queen, who ended their six-day tour of Australia on Tuesday, posted a message on social media saying they “couldn’t wait” to arrive in Samoa and experience the “warmth” of the country’s ancient traditions.

The tweet included a few words in Samoan which loosely translated as “looking forward to meeting the Samoan people”.

Samoa, a small country in the central South Pacific Ocean made up of an archipelago of nine islands, is hosting a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) which has the theme “One Resilient Common Future”.

The King, as head of the Commonwealth, will formally open the event that will also be attended by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

Charles deputised for Queen Elizabeth II during the last CHOGM staged by Rwanda in 2022, and in Samoa will be joined by Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

The route from the airport to Apia – Samoa’s capital – had been spruced up for the royal visit on Wednesday.

Each village along the road had adopted a country, with residents decorating their houses and adorning their lawns with the corresponding flags.

Flashing lights were put in trees, bushes and on roof tops, while car tyres were repurposed as flower pots and painted bright colours.

Climate change, a subject close to the King’s heart, is expected to top the agenda at the meeting held in a part of the world very vulnerable to rising sea levels.

While reparations are not officially on the table, the subject is likely to come up as this group of countries was brought together by British colonisation.

The UK government has said there will no official apology or reparations.