Sir Idris Elba teased his friend the King after he was drenched during a Caribbean downpour on a visit dominated by demands for slavery reparations.
asserted
he → tease → reparations
Charles, who 24 hours earlier had appeared frustrated when an aide failed to bring him an umbrella, laughed about the incident when he met the Wire, Thor and Luther star in Antigua.
asserted
he → appear → Antigua
During a visit to Nelson's Dockyard, the historic naval base, the King bumped into Sir Idris, who apologised for the torrential rain that left him upset and soaked to the bone.
asserted
that → bump → bone
He asked: 'How are you doing?
asserted
you → ask → ?
Are you having a good time?
asserted
you → have → time
The King laughed and replied: 'My suit has grown watercress.'
Charles had just set an engraved stone into a wall when he reunited with Sir Idris, a goodwill ambassador for The King's Trust, who was hosting the One Commonwealth Night concert at the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
asserted
who → laugh → Site
'How are you?' the actor and knife-crime campaigner asked as they shook hands.
asserted
they → ask → hands
The King replied: 'What are you doing here?'
asserted
you → reply → What
Both laughing, Sir Idris said: 'I get around,' affectionately patting the King on the arm.
asserted
I → laugh → arm
Charles was attending celebrations marking Antigua and Barbuda's 45th anniversary of independence, just days after the country's prime minister renewed demands for Britain to pay reparations for slavery and reiterated his desire to see the King replaced as head of state.
asserted
King → attend → state
Back in Britain, ministers are facing mounting pressure over reparations after Andy Burnham, who has now jetted to the Caribbean, opened the door to an official apology for Britain's role in slavery.
asserted
who → face → slavery
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, meanwhile, has insisted Britain has 'had enough of apologising' for its past and has rejected calls for reparations.
asserted
Britain → insist → reparations
The King and Sir Idris Elba share a joke about the King being soaked by a rainshower
The Hollywood star told the King: 'How are you doing?
asserted
you → share → King
Are you having a good time?
asserted
you → have → time
The King laughed and replied: 'My suit has grown watercress.'
asserted
suit → laugh → watercress
King Charles III was seen waving as he was left without an umbrella at an event marking 45 years of the Antigua and Barbuda's independence during his Caribbean tour
The monarch looks on after Queen Camilla receives her umbrella from her team - but his was awol
A royal aide was blamed for an umbrella blunder during a Caribbean downpour that left King Charles drenched the previous evening.
The monarch was seen waving frantically and telling staff to 'bring it' after being left soaked to the bone in Antigua on a visit overshadowed by demands for slavery reparations and calls to strip him of his role as head of state.
As Queen Camilla beat a hasty retreat, Charles turned and gestured in exasperation towards staff while pacing on and off a podium, appearing to mouth: 'Where's the umbrella?'
At one point, he even mimed holding one.
asserted
he → see → one
'Umbrella-gate' and the King's soaking was a rare misstep by Buckingham Palace's usually seamless operation, particularly given the optics of the day.
asserted
gate → give → day
Aides would ordinarily have checked the forecast and ensured an umbrella was immediately to hand.
asserted
umbrella → check → hand
At one point, the King's police protection officer could be seen hurrying staff to bring one over.
uncertain
officer → see → one
His Majesty was eventually handed an umbrella by his equerry, Major Ben Rigby, who had been forced to run back into the stands to retrieve it from the rest of the entourage.
asserted
who → hand → entourage
By then, however, the King was soaked, with his lightweight summer suit appearing see-through in places.
asserted
suit → soak → places
Charles had earlier brushed away Sunday's soaking as he and Camilla visited a colonial museum in Antigua where he cracked a gag about his awol umbrella.
asserted
he → brush → umbrella
The King and Queen did not 'shy away' from the past as they acknowledged slavery while touring Government House Museum, which contains enslavement artefacts.
asserted
which → shy → artefacts
Charles peered into a display case that contained ceramic medallions depicting slaves made in support of abolition and a silk parasol.
asserted
that → peer → abolition
Walking over to the display, he pointed and asked: 'Is that an umbrella?'
asserted
that → walk → display
The case also contained slave shackles and a conch shell used by enslaved people to call meetings and summon them to work.
asserted
case → contain → work
Government House is home of the monarch's representative in Antigua and Barbuda, which has been described as a one-time 'symbol of British colonial oppression'.
asserted
which → describe → oppression
Charles earlier nodded in acknowledgement while he was shown a series of three paintings by a local artist and told it depicted slaves plotting to escape before being captured and put before their masters.
Before the trip, Buckingham Palace said they would not 'shy away' from the 'darkest days of our past'.
asserted
they → nod → past
It came after Sunday saw the King visibly flustered after he was caught without an umbrella
The monarch appears to ask 'is that an umbrella' after walking over to a display in the Government House Museum
Charles also met Andy Burnham for the first time since the Prime Minister's comments about Britain's role in the transatlantic slave trade sparked a row on the eve of the King's appearance at a Commonwealth conference.
The two men were together at a Commonwealth Business Forum held at the appropriately named Sticky Wicket, a bar and restaurant alongside a cricket ground.
As he arrived, Mr Burnham was asked by ITV News whether he had 'made things more difficult' for the King.
asserted
things → come → King
He replied: 'No.
asserted
He → reply → ?
We are reaching out and listening.
asserted
We → reach → ?
The whole aim here has been to come and listen and bring a new approach to the Commonwealth, and to bring people together.'
He did not respond to a question on whether the King should make a personal apology on behalf of his ancestors.
Charles's speech at Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) on Tuesday is expected to be 'unflinchingly honest'.
As they left, the King and Queen walked past former slave quarters where emancipated people who worked at Governor's House lived, believed to be the oldest of their kind in the East Caribbean.
asserted
who → come → Caribbean
Cuthbert Forbes, senior assistant to Dame Williams the wife of the Governor-General Sir Rodney Williams, showed the King and Queen the series of three paintings showing slaves plotting an escape before being caught.
asserted
Forbes → show → escape
The exhibition included artwork by local artists who had the help of two tutors from the Royal Drawing School for six weeks.
asserted
who → include → weeks
He said afterwards of the paintings he showed the King: 'This is a story of plotting that whole plan and trying to execute it, brought back.
'Being caught and being brought before their master.'
He added: 'It's not about confronting them (King and Queen) with slavery.
asserted
It → say → slavery
'But including that we have a bit of our history remains with us, where we are coming from.
asserted
we → include → where
'Telling that story for us as black Caribbean people this story of how far we have come and battles we have fought.
asserted
we → tell → story
We are standing on the precipice and welcome the Head of State even though we are independent we have that link.
asserted
we → stand → link
And we want to tell that story.'
asserted
we → want → story
Their Majesties were due to view former slave quarters, now restored as a reminder of the evils of Britain's transatlantic slave trade, as well as a sobering display of items from the time including shackles.
asserted
Majesties → view → shackles
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
