As expected, King Charles III stopped short of offering an apology for his nation and the Crown’s role in the transatlantic slave trade at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua today.  The monarch is the constitutional head of state for the United Kingdom and its realms, and the Palace let it be known ahead of time that an apology was solely the purview of the British government. Charles instead stated this morning, his voice heavy with emotion: “As I have said before, that shameful chapter of history is one that fills my heart with horror and my soul with the most profound personal sorrow.”

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said last week that while he was open to offering a formal apology as demanded by many Commonwealth leaders, which would be a major shift in policy, reparations would not be on the table.

The nine-day Caribbean tour Charles is undertaking with Queen Camilla comes at a critical time for the future of the Commonwealth. The last royal excursion, by William and Catherine in the then-Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee year of 2022, was fraught with tension: an Indigenous protest in Belize led to event cancellations and more protests and demands for reparations followed in Jamaica. These were capped by a series of very unfortunate photographs in Jamaica – with the royal couple greeting well-wishers through a metal fence and then striking a Colonial-era pose in an open-top Land Rover – all of which cast a pall.

This trip has been rather mixed. On the one hand, there are truly charming videos of Charles doing his signature “dad (or now, grandpa) dance” in the Bahamas. Then there are the videos of His Majesty clearly unimpressed by the umbrella service of his valets as tropical showers ensued in an Antigua stadium. This last is unfortunate, as the internet neither forgives nor forgets. It will likely land in a montage alongside the wee tantrums Charles has thrown over leaky pens and the Waleses arriving late to his Coronation. His aides really do need to protect him from his own temperamental frailties. And they need to be sheltering the King, who’s undergoing long-term cancer treatments, from the elements – even in this most tropical of settings.

The real nitty-gritty of the biennial CHOGM gets underway now. Our prime minister, Mark Carney, is currently in Antigua with his wife, Diana Fox Carney – who was recently named Canada’s first Oceans Envoy – and is expected to meet with the King. This conference of nations comes at a moment when Canada has been expressly trying to build economic bridges and alliances outside of our traditional reliance on American trade agreements – and as that country goes to the polls today to decide the fate of the houses of Congress.

In the end, Charles’s hands were tied. His words may not appease Commonwealth leaders,  most notably Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley and others whose countries have republican leanings. But his role – and its limitations – as sovereign is very clear in the British parliamentary system. Charles has attempted to use his words and personal feelings to articulate his belief that slavery remains a contemporary issue – “forever stains” was a phrase he used last week – and to convey that he is being asked to make a linguistic leap that he is simply not empowered to do. It is incumbent on Burnham, who is also at the CHOGM, to bridge history here.

But Charles still managed to get the last word: The umbrella theme carried over into the final dinner of the CHOGM in Antigua. He quipped: “It is one of the few organizations able to unite countries famous for snow, countries famous for deserts, and, most of all, countries whose citizens are utterly convinced they enjoy perfect weather all year round.” Dramatic pause, cut to the part where he makes fun of himself for his rainy day tantrum: “Part of my role as the head of the Commonwealth is to act as an umbrella for you all.”

Again, Charles uses his charm and humour to great effect in diplomatic endeavours. We saw on his U.S. tour how he deftly handled – and deflected – President Donald Trump. Part of the lasting legacy of Charles’s reign will be his understanding of delicate egos, including his own, and his ability to gently and elegantly poke fun at himself.