Deep in their heart they maintained their culture, and so it still flourished
A monarch's first visit to a British overseas territory is rarely only about the present — it carries the accumulated weight of empire, survival, and the slow work of reckoning. King Charles III arrived in Bermuda this week bearing that weight openly, pausing before artifacts of the slave trade before watching a dance form that had been suppressed by the very system those artifacts represent. In the streets of St George and on the shores of Trunk Island, the visit wove together pageantry, ecological concern, and the quiet human moments that remind us why such journeys still matter.
- The King's first act on Bermudian soil was not celebration but confrontation — he stood before iron collars and images of shackled men, a deliberate acknowledgment of the island's entanglement in the transatlantic slave trade.
- A Gombey dancer explained to the monarch how an enslaved people had their names, language, and identity stripped away — yet kept their culture alive in the body, passing it down through generations until it could be danced freely again.
- The streets of St George erupted with a 21-gun salute, Bob Marley's 'Jamming,' and hundreds of residents pressing forward — a four-year-old in a guardsman's uniform and a girl who vowed never to wash her hand again captured the day's warmth.
- Diplomatic shadows from strained Anglo-American relations had threatened to cloud the visit, but the King's well-received address to Congress appeared to have steadied the atmosphere before he reached the island.
- From releasing rescued hermit crabs to learning about coastguard operations against illegal fishing, the visit balanced historical gravity with the living, practical concerns of a small island community.
King Charles III arrived in Bermuda on Thursday evening, his first visit to a British overseas territory since ascending to the throne, stepping off a four-day stay in the United States into two days of carefully layered ceremony and human connection. Queen Camilla did not accompany him.
The first full day began not with fanfare but with weight. At the National Museum of Bermuda, the King was shown artifacts from the transatlantic slave trade — iron collars, images of men in chains aboard ships — a spare and direct accounting of Bermuda's place in that history. He then watched a Gombey dance performance, a tradition that had been suppressed during slavery and permitted only on Christmas and New Year's. Irwin Trott, a spokesman for the Gombey troops, explained how the form blended African, Caribbean, Native American, and British influences, and how an enslaved people had preserved their culture even as their names and language were taken from them. The King was being shown, in effect, how a people had kept themselves whole.
Friday opened into public spectacle. After inspecting the Royal Bermuda Regiment, the King moved through the streets of St George, where hundreds had gathered. A marching band led the procession, a 21-gun salute rang out, and the band played Bob Marley. A boy named Theo, wearing a guardsman's outfit his mother had bought at Buckingham Palace two years earlier, caught the King's eye. A girl named Charlotte shook his hand and told the BBC she would never wash it again — her mother noting that her own mother had once brought her to see Queen Elizabeth II, one of six times the late Queen had visited the island.
The afternoon took a quieter turn. On Trunk Island, the King watched three land hermit crabs released back into their habitat after being rescued from a development site, and observed a health check on a Bermuda Longtail. He cut a cake at the aquarium museum's centenary, took a coastguard boat trip to learn about efforts against illegal fishing and smuggling, and met Michael Frith — the Bermuda-born designer behind several Muppet characters — and his wife.
Underlying the visit was a diplomatic undercurrent: strained relations between Britain and the United States, fuelled by the American president's repeated criticism of the UK Prime Minister over Britain's reluctance to join military action against Iran. The King's address to Congress during his US stay had drawn a standing ovation and appeared to ease the tension enough for the Bermuda visit to proceed without shadow. Two days on the island, and then home.
King Charles arrived in Bermuda on Thursday evening, stepping onto the island after four days in the United States, marking his first visit to a British overseas territory since becoming monarch. Queen Camilla remained behind. What unfolded over the next two days was a carefully choreographed blend of pageantry, historical reckoning, and the kind of small human moments that tend to lodge in memory—a four-year-old in a guardsman's uniform, a girl who swore she'd never wash her hand again.
The King's first full day began with something weightier than ceremony. At the National Museum of Bermuda, he was shown artifacts and images from the transatlantic slave trade—shackled men aboard ships, the iron collars used by traders. The display was spare and direct, a visual accounting of Bermuda's entanglement in that history. Afterward, he watched a Gombey dance performance, a tradition that had been suppressed during slavery, permitted only on Christmas and New Year's. Irwin Trott, who speaks for the Gombey dance troops, explained to the King afterward that the form blended African, Caribbean, West Indian, Native American, and British influences. "Even though they were stripped of their identity, names were taken, their language was taken, deep in their heart they maintained their culture," Trott said. The King was being shown, in effect, how a people had kept themselves whole.
Friday brought the public spectacle. He inspected the Royal Bermuda Regiment, then moved through the streets of St George, the island's former capital, where residents had gathered in the hundreds. A marching band led the way. A 21-gun salute cracked across the air. The band played Bob Marley—"Jamming"—and people of all ages held up union jacks and raised their phones to capture the moment. A child named Theo, dressed in a King's guardsman outfit he'd been wearing since his mother bought it from Buckingham Palace two years prior, caught the monarch's eye. Charlotte, another young girl in the crowd, managed to shake his hand and told the BBC afterward, with the certainty only a child possesses, that she would never wash it again. Her mother mentioned that her own mother had brought her to see Queen Elizabeth II during one of the late Queen's six visits to Bermuda—a thread of continuity across generations.
The King moved on to the Living Classroom on Trunk Island, where he watched as three land hermit crabs were released back into their habitat after being rescued from a development site. Staff from the Bermuda Zoological Society performed a health check on a Bermuda Longtail, a white-tailed tropic bird. At the aquarium museum, marking its 100th anniversary, he cut a cake. He also took a boat trip with the coastguard, learning about their efforts against illegal fishing and smuggling. He met Michael Frith, a Bermuda native who designed characters for the Muppets, and Frith's wife, Kathryn Mullen.
Beneath the surface of these events lay a question that had shadowed the visit: whether deteriorating relations between Britain and the United States might cast a pall over proceedings. In recent months, the American president had criticized the UK Prime Minister repeatedly, objecting to Britain's reluctance to join America and Israel in military action against Iran. The King, however, had addressed Congress during his US visit with remarks that drew a standing ovation—an indirect but unmistakable acknowledgment of the tensions, and perhaps a gentle push back against them. By the time he reached Bermuda, the diplomatic weather seemed to have cleared enough for the visit to proceed as planned. He would spend two days on the island before returning home.
Citações Notáveis
Even though they were stripped of their identity, names were taken, their language was taken, deep in their heart they maintained their culture, and so it still flourished throughout the Caribbean.— Irwin Trott, spokesman for Bermudan Gombey dance troops, speaking to the King
I'm never washing my hand again— Charlotte, a young girl who shook the King's hand in St George
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why did the museum visit come first, before the crowds and the celebration?
Because you can't understand what happened here without understanding what was done here. The slave trade isn't decoration on Bermuda's story—it's foundational. The King needed to see that before he could properly witness what the people built afterward.
The Gombey dance seemed important to the account. What makes it significant?
It's survival. During slavery, they took almost everything from people—their names, their languages, their freedom. But they couldn't take the dance. They restricted it to two days a year, and the people kept it alive anyway. When the King watched it, he was watching proof that oppression doesn't erase a culture if the people won't let it.
A child saying she'd never wash her hand again—that feels like the real story, doesn't it?
It is. All the pageantry, the salutes, the bands—that's the machinery of monarchy. But a child's certainty that she'd just touched something that mattered, that she wanted to preserve that moment on her skin—that's what actually moves through a community and stays.
Why mention the tensions with America at all if they didn't derail the visit?
Because context matters. The visit could have been awkward or strained. That it wasn't—that the King managed to navigate those waters and still be present for Bermuda—that's part of what the moment was.