King Charles has admitted he can’t keep pace with Princess Anne as he completed a visit to Bermuda.
Speaking at a reception at Government House in the country as he undertook his first visit to an Overseas Territory as King, Charles III noted the many visits his Royal Family has made there over the years and had particular words to say about his sister.
Noting that ”my sister, The Princess Royal, has been here numerous times”, he went off script and added ”she goes everywhere in the world and I can’t keep up with it.”
And he had praise for another of the most high profile royals, the Duchess of Gloucester, who had carried out the most recent royal visit to the island, arriving in 2025.
The King underlined the importance of his own visit as he told the country’s Prime Minister that ”it meant a very great deal, Mr. Premier, to receive your generous invitation to come here myself, and to make Bermuda my first Overseas Territory visit as King. In fact, I am told it is also the “first time” in Bermuda’s four-hundred-year history that the islands have received a reigning King. I am sorry it has taken so long!”
The visit to Bermuda followed The King’s highly successful four day State Visit to the US where he and Queen Camilla were guests of honour at the White House for a State Banquet where The King’s speech was praised for its diplomacy and bite. King Charles also addressed Congress during his time in the US – only the second time a British Monarch has done so. The first to make such a speech was Queen Elizabeth II.
The speech made by King Charles in Bermuda reflected on the future of the country, with The King noting that ”against the backdrop of such great natural scenery, the young people of Bermuda especially have shone brightly today. Whether they were showcasing their art, their sport, their commitment to service, their passion for Nature, or their impressive Gombey dance, I am proud to have witnessed that the future of Bermuda is entrusted to such safe hands.”
On the first day of his visit to Bermuda, King Charles had joined a ‘living classroom’ on Trunk Island where children and young people get hands on experience of the area’s ecosystem.
During his own living classroom experience, The King watched a soil class as well as a lesson on coral and fish identification. He also saw the students work to release hermit crabs into the environment and saw a health check of Bermuda Longtails.
He’d also met some of the young sailors learning the ropes, quite literally, at the ferry service at the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. His busy first day included sport and youth-themed gathering on the waterfront at The Camber where he heard about the development of strong, positive possibilities for young people.
It came after the ceremonial welcome to the island, in King Square in St. George’s, the former capital of Bermuda. There was a 21 gun salute as well as a Royal Salute and an inspection of the Guard of Honour.
King Charles then travelled on to meet the Prime Minister of Bermuda, E.David Burt, and the Cabinet. His first day also included a visit to St. Peter’s Church which he had also been to during his last visit to the country, in 1970. The church was designated ”Their Majesties Chappell” in 2012 by Queen Elizabeth II to mark her Diamond Jubilee.
He was reunited with the Premier for a longer audience as day one came to an end before joining guests at a reception at Government House where he made his speech.
The second day of the visit to Bermuda also saw The King officially open Great Bay Coast Guard Station and hear about the work done by the Royal Bermuda Regiment’s Coast Guard to protect the territorial waters and safeguard the marine environment. Five members of the Regiment were presented with Operational Service Medals by The King, during the visit, for their work.
The focus was firmly on the future for the final engagement of the tour of Bermuda. King Charles attended the launch of a UK Space Agency Project which will oversee the installation of global network of telescopes across five sites to help track space debris and support international sustainability.
King Charles has now left Bermuda to return to the UK where he’ll be reunited with Queen Camilla who didn’t accompany him on the visit.
