Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, The Queen and I are delighted to join you for this

twenty-eighth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

I must say it is rather sobering to think that I attended my first of these meetings

almost thirty years ago. It is even more sobering to think that thirty years ago, most people had never bought anything online, many had never sent an email and

connecting to the web involved a rather alarming series of screeches from a telephone line.

In fact, in those days the internet was so new people referred to it as the ‘information superhighway’. I suspect that,

thirty years later, many of those early users – some in this room perhaps – are still trying to

remember their first passwords!

I did want to begin by thanking the Government and people of Antigua and Barbuda

for their remarkable hospitality and for making us so welcome. It was a particular pleasure to

be able to celebrate on Sunday the 45th anniversary of your Independence, and to honour the

achievements of Antiguans and Barbudans in so many fields. For one of the smallest nations

on Earth, your impact in the world is tremendous. There is great truth in the saying: “Small

Island, Big Vibes”!

Ladies and Gentlemen, that in four short years we should have met in Kigali, Apia

and now St John’s, shows the extraordinary span of the Commonwealth and the diversity it

represents. Our histories, circumstances and perspectives may differ, but together they

inspire us in our shared endeavors and strengthen us in our common cause.

Our Commonwealth family has mattered greatly to me for my whole life – and now,

particularly, as King and Head of the Commonwealth– to which I have always tried to offer

Page 1 of 6whatever service I can, especially in support of young people, of whom Commonwealth

countries can count more than a billion, not to mention the protection of the uniquely

important natural environments we each depend upon. I can only say how glad I am that The

Queen shares my enthusiasm for our Commonwealth family and all that it represents, not

least through The Queen’s Commonwealth Writing Competition.

None of us, of course, would be here today were it not for our history, which has

shaped us in myriad ways. History is not ours to choose or to change. It is bequeathed to us

in complex synthesis by forebears we can never know. Our inheritance includes both their

achievements and their failures – the good they did as well as the wrongs.

History can be hard to compass, viewed as it is through the prism of time, which can

be both clarifying and distorting, and yet its consequences resonate with contemporary force.

Our history inspires us, can appall us, yet it can always teach us.

We cannot change the actions of those who came before us. We can, however, learn

from the past. The transatlantic trade in enslaved persons still casts a shadow over these

islands and other Members of our Commonwealth. 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.

And yet history also teaches us that evil need not have the last word; that character

and courage can combine to overcome the most monstrous injustice, as they did with the

determination to end international trade in enslaved people, in which the Royal Navy played

such a leading role.

The more I have furthered my own understanding of the issues, through listening,

learning and looking, the more committed I have become to finding ways for us to work in

modern partnership to address the wrongs of the past with action for the future. Through

improving access to education, investing in jobs and opportunities, encouraging intra-

Commonwealth trade, and inspiring vital climate resilience measures across the world, I have

always felt that there is so much that can be done to help lift up those who struggle against

Page 2 of 6hardship and disadvantage. I have always tried to play my part in doing just that. For, as any

sailor navigating the seas knows, we cannot command the winds, least of all where the winds

of yesterday have delivered us – but we can choose how we set our sails.

The Commonwealth of today is not merely a product of the past – it is a response to

the world of today. Its vocation is more compelling than ever. In fact, in a desperately

troubled world, the Commonwealth has welcomed new members who see the unique value of

this organization and have chosen to be part of its future.

All around us, trust between nations is under critical strain, as international norms and

systems are tested to their limits. Brutal conflict stalks our world, destroying lives and

casting long shadows across the globe. Technology is transforming our societies and our

economies at dizzying speed, with little certainty about where it might lead us.

As I have consistently tried to emphasize, climate change is no longer just a terrifying

prospect, but a catastrophic reality which threatens our very way of life. Nature is under

constant attack and critical natural systems are collapsing. And in each of our countries, for

too many people, the opportunity to fulfil their own potential lies far beyond their reach.

Each of these is a challenge of the highest order. Together, they comprise the crisis of

our time. The Commonwealth cannot provide all of the solutions. It does, however, offer an

unparalleled opportunity to work together – across our societies and our economies, through

our businesses, our institutions and our communities. It allows us to draw on the collective

ingenuity of a third of humanity to address the challenges confronting us all.

This, it seems to me, is the vital essence of the Commonwealth. It lives in the people

we serve. It courses through the dynamic connections between them. It flows through

partnership and trade and in the solutions we find to shared challenges. It drives co-operation

across borders and inspires our young people to imagine the future they can build. It provides

Member States, today, here, now, with a unique opportunity: to forge common cause in the

interests of our peoples.

Page 3 of 6And what unites this extraordinary and unique group of countries even more deeply is

our values: of democracy and the rule of law; of respect, equal dignity and human rights; of

sustainable development; of peace and security. These values have never been more

important, contested as they are on so many fronts. And they guide us to action.

That is why, Secretary General, the theme of this C.H.O.G.M. – Accelerating

Partnerships and Investment for a Prosperous Commonwealth – represents such a vital

opportunity for us all.

To realize these opportunities, in the field of climate and Nature for example,

transformative investment can drive real change, such as in renewable energy and resilient

infrastructure, in sustainable, regenerative agriculture and agroforestry and food systems, in

our oceans, our forests and in the natural systems upon which our economies and societies

ultimately depend.

Here in the Caribbean, as in so many parts of our Commonwealth, climate change is

not some distant prospect, it is an alarming reality. As we know, large Ocean States have

contributed little to the causes of climate change and yet they are among those bearing the

greatest cost.

If we mobilize climate finance through the private sector, and with the leveraging

capacity of the public sector, we can drive investment into climate resilience. Nature herself

is an essential form of capital that sustains our prosperity and wellbeing and yet we have

persisted for too long to live off Nature’s capital rather than her income. To restore Nature is

therefore not to choose our environment over our economy – it is to invest in the very

foundations of our economy, not to mention our security.

The Secretary General has announced a series of Nature and climate proposals for

consideration at this year’s Heads Meeting: a new Commonwealth Nature Initiative with

funding to restore habitats; work with insurers on the proposal for a Commonwealth-backed

mutual insurance mechanism to provide rapid payouts after disasters; and aspirations for a

Commonwealth Net Zero Fund to provide access to credit for a renewable-energy revolution.

Page 4 of 6I look forward to hearing how Commonwealth leaders, the private sector and civil society

will work together on innovative proposals like these in support of all the citizens of the

Commonwealth, especially in countries most vulnerable to the reality of climate change.

Another area in which, it seems to me, there is such great potential for the

Commonwealth to do more, is in international trade.

Our shared legal traditions, our institutions, the long-standing networks between us, as

well as the English language, give us a remarkable common advantage. So much so, that the

Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council reminds us that it is twenty-one per cent

cheaper to do business across the Commonwealth.

We can surely make far better use of this advantage – by reducing barriers to trade;

improving our digital connectivity; helping small and medium-sized enterprises to find new

markets; sharing the burden of insurance; and by encouraging investment across our borders.

The potential is tremendous – and it goes far beyond trade in traditional goods. There

are enormous opportunities in digital services, sustainable tourism, clean energy, the creative

industries, the blue economy and in the technologies of tomorrow.

In light of all these opportunities, I was so pleased to learn of the initiatives you are

pursuing, Secretary General, on intra-Commonwealth trade, including those involving the

private sector, which aim at realizing that potential.

Ladies and Gentlemen, today I have had time to mention just some of the ways in

which our Commonwealth can use its unique advantage to deliver real and tangible change.

There are, I know, many other such opportunities which you will be discussing in the days

ahead.

As you do, I trust that you will take inspiration from the many remarkable leaders

who came before you – the men and women from across the Commonwealth upon whose

Page 5 of 6vision and determination, and unshakeable belief in the endless opportunity inherent in this

unique family of nations, the modern Commonwealth was built.

Today the leadership of this unique institution is in your hands. Each of you has the

opportunity to make the greatest possible difference. I pray that over these coming days you

will embrace this opportunity and commit yourselves to action.

I pray that you will renew your determination to build a Commonwealth in which

prosperity and Nature flourish side by side; in which investment builds resilience as well as

social and economic capital; and in which trade creates opportunity from which everyone can

benefit – especially those people in Member States in most need of those benefits, both

economic and environmental.

Above all, Ladies and Gentlemen, I trust that each of you will recommit yourselves to

a Commonwealth in which our young people can look to the future with greater confidence

and purpose. So that from this remarkable family of nations, our people can draw inspiration

and hope – just as I, myself, have always done.

ENDS

It's private trip. But Barça couldn't resist. The club posted a photograph, declaring itself "honoured to welcome" father and son.

Prince William has followed Villa since his own schooldays. George looks hooked too.

He did not, however, apologise.

He raised the subject early in his speech opening the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in St John's.

"As I've said before, that shameful chapter of history is one that fills my heart with horror and my soul with the most profound personal sorrow," he said.

Some leaders in the audience had wanted a formal apology.

Buckingham Palace had made clear beforehand that this was a matter for the government, not the monarch. The King acts on the advice of his ministers.

"History is not ours to choose or to change. It is bequeathed to us in complex synthesis by forebears we can never know," he said. "Our history inspires us, can appall us, yet it can always teach us. We cannot change the actions of those who came before us. We can, however, learn from the past."

He said the more he had come to understand the issues, "the more committed I have become to finding ways for us to work in modern partnership to address the wrongs of the past with action for the future."

The Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has said he is open to apologising and is holding talks with African and Caribbean leaders at the summit. His spokesman said that the Prime Minister's expressions of sorrow and regret were "distinct from a formal apology." Downing Street is setting up talks with Caribbean and African partners on whether the British state should formally apologise.

Mr Burnham has ruled out direct financial reparations but is giving £40 million to Caribbean projects. Opponents have accused him of putting the King under pressure, which he denies.

Should the government decide to apologise, the Palace is expected to follow its lead.

The King praised the campaign to end the trade, "in which the Royal Navy played such a leading role." He told leaders: "As any sailor navigating the seas knows, we cannot command the winds, least of all where the winds of yesterday have delivered us, but we can choose how we set our sails."

On climate change, he said it was "no longer just a terrifying prospect, but a catastrophic reality which threatens our very way of life."

"Here in the Caribbean, as in so many parts of our Commonwealth, climate change is not some distant prospect. It is an alarming reality," he said. "Large ocean states have contributed little to the causes of climate change. And yet, they are among those bearing the greatest cost."

He called for private investment, supported by public money, in climate resilience. "To restore nature is therefore not to choose our environment over our economy. It is to invest in the very foundations of our economy, not to mention our security."

He also spoke of the Commonwealth's young people, of whom there are "more than 1 billion".

He opened his speech by telling his hosts there was "great truth in the saying, small island, big vibes."

Queen Camilla's protection officer had hers up fast. Charles stood and got soaked.

His equerry got there in the end. It's an old fight. Equerries and policemen have long argued over who carries the brolly.

Neither wants it.

In Hong Kong in 1997 nobody did, and he got drenched then too.

Moments after King Charles and Queen Camilla stepped on to the dais, it rained on His Majesty’s parade.

Camilla was handed an umbrella. But The King was left standing in the torrential downpour.

He repeatedly asked: "Where's the umbrella?"

Afterwards he joked: "I've started growing watercress on my trousers."

The Queen laughed off her frizzy hair.

There was a sordid secret in Thomas Markles’s Mexican storage unit.

Now the world knows about it. So does the FBI.

The unit in Rosarito, where Markle lived from 2011 until just last year, was rented in his name. Inside, the Daily Mail's reporters discovered photographs of girls who look conspicuously young.

Markle himself appears in one picture posing with a female of uncertain age - both fully dressed - sitting on a bed. In other pictures of that same female, apparently taken in the same room, she is naked.

There were incriminating magazines too. Books with disgusting titles, old VHS tapes with handwritten labels, references to the 'dark web' and instructions on how to wipe a hard drive.

On Saturday morning Mexican police raided the unit. The team of Guardia Nacional officers identified themselves as state sex crimes investigators and comprised…

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Harry. The King. William and Catherine. What's really going on behind the gates.

🇬🇧 UK: 9pm, Sunday 1st November

🇺🇸 New York (East Coast): 4pm, Sunday 8 November

🇺🇸 Los Angeles (West Coast): 1pm, Sunday 8 November

🇦🇺 Sydney & Melbourne: 8am, Monday 9 November

Send your questions in advance, or ask them on the night.

Can't make it? The replay will be here afterwards.

Not a paid subscriber yet? To take part please UPGRADE now and join me on the Q & A.

Best,

Rob

Harry. The King. William and Catherine. What's really going on behind the gates.

🇬🇧 UK: 9pm, Sunday 1st November
🇺🇸 New York (East Coast): 4pm, Sunday 8 November
🇺🇸 Los Angeles (West Coast): 1pm, Sunday 8 November
🇦🇺 Sydney & Melbourne: 8am, Monday 9 November

Send your questions in advance, or bring them on the night. Can't make it? The replay will be here afterwards, for paid subscribers only.

Not a paid subscriber yet? Upgrade now and join me on the Q & A.

Rob

The Daily Mail exclusively revealed it found an alleged hoard of child abuse material in a storage unit he rented in Mexico. The paper has passed everything it found to the Bureau.

The unit is in Rosarito Beach, ten miles from the US border, where Markle lived for years.

Receipts seen by the Daily Mail allegedly show he rented the 5ft by 10ft space in 2017, six years after he moved to the town.

The report says he then stopped paying. The lease, it is told, went unpaid for two years. Its reporter was granted access to the abandoned unit.

What was inside is deeply disturbing.

The Daily Mail alleges it found books about pedophilia and magazines, published in Asia, allegedly showing children being sexually abused.

There were also loose photographs of naked Asian females. Some, the paper says, look “conspicuously young.”

It also allegedly uncovered 35mm negatives. Some appear to show random, voyeuristic images of children on a beach.

Others allegedly show a woman, her limbs bound, being directed by a man during a photo shoot.

The material was found alongside the ordinary debris of a life. Family mementoes. Photographs. Letters.

The Daily Mail handed all the material to the FBI.

The discovery comes as police obtain a warrant to investigate child-sex images allegedly found in boxes of Markle’s possessions at his son Thomas Markle Junior’s home in the Philippines.

Markle Senior moved there after leaving Rosarito in January 2025.

In Antigua, Charles chairs 56 nations with slavery on the table. Barbados has ditched the Frien, Jamaica could be next.

Beyond slavery, it's about survival: climate cash for sinking islands, and trade deals to keep the Commonwealth relevant.

This is personal. Who would want to be the King who lost the Caribbean.

On his first full day in the Bahamas, he paid his respects to the fallen and inspected the Royal Bahamas Defence Force.

He met the families of four fallen marines: Fenrick Sturrup, Austin Smith, David Tucker and Edward Williams. And survivor Gregory Curry.

Then the Boxing Academy. Then Junkanoo.

Solemn first, then the party. Classic royal tour.

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It comes after sordid allegations made against her father, Thomas Markle Senior, in the Sun, my old rag.

It also comes too after her husband, the self-styled “Prince of England” Harry, blurted to GQ magazine that WE should all let go of the past. Really? How convenient.

Apparently the Duke and Duchess of Sussex think they deserve a clean slate (Plus taxpayer funded security). Many, myself included, don’t.

I am not mean-spirited. But I believe that to be granted a second chance you must first earn it.

Oh, and yes you need to apologise for what you did wrong too … and mean it. As yet this entitled pair - H & M - haven't, and don’t think they should.

Let's have a look at the facts; worth revisiting.

First, the allegations against Thomas Markle Senior.

So far they are ALL unproven, and he denies them, according to the Daily Mail.

If Meghan had real reason to keep her children away from him…

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In a personal message on Kensington Palace's social media accounts, signed W, the Prince said: "Huge congratulations to Harry Kane on winning the Ballon d'Or. What a fantastic achievement and so deserved."

He added: "A brilliant captain, a remarkable player and someone who has given football fans across the world so many unforgettable moments."

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We've reached 21,000 FREE subscribers, and our videos have achieved an incredible 1.4 million views (122.3k hours of watch time) which is amazing traction in the first 28 days.

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Their message marks Mountain Rescue Awareness Day. It is held deliberately on the day the clocks go back and night falls earlier. The aim is simple: to warn walkers to prepare for winter conditions and carry essential safety gear, including a torch, before heading for the hills.

Volunteers across the country expect a spike in emergencies involving walkers caught out by sudden darkness or bad weather.

The prince is Royal Patron of Mountain Rescue England and Wales. Kensington Palace is releasing a new photograph alongside the couple's message. It was taken in June during the princess's Three Peaks Challenge, and shows the family with their children at the foot of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), together with the Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team, the busiest in the UK.

During the challenge, the princess met the…

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Sadly, it eclipsed Prince William's brilliant appearance on The Graham Norton Show.

He seemed himself, completely relaxed, just as he is when he makes appearances in public.

He's very likeable, very warm, very funny, self-confident, but without being arrogant. He has a good number of anecdotes.

He's humble, but also confident. He has a great aura about him, I think.

William talks about his family with great affection, and I think that people warmed to him straight away. He is relaxed to share it with us.

There's no whingeing, there's no complaints about his position, not like his brother, Harry who never stops whingeing, never stops complaining, it seems to me.

With all the nonsense that's swirling around, William showed himself to just get on with the job.

More than that, he was sending a message about the importance of his Earthshot Prize. It's something he's really, re…

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A letter containing them had been sent to the Metropolitan Police and was later shared with her.

It follows reports that images of child sexual abuse allegedly belonging to him were found at his former home in the Philippines. Mr Markle denies possessing them.

Mr Markle calls the claims "sick lies".

She said she was "deeply distressed" and had kept her distance, and that she did "not allow him to have contact with our children".

Last December her father had his leg amputated in a hospital near his home in Cebu.

Meghan Markle wrote to him there. Her spokesperson confirmed the letter reached his bedside. It was her first contact with him in seven years.

It is not known who sent the 2018 letter, or what was done with it.

None of the allegations has been proven.

What a sordid mess.

Read more