King set to address Commonwealth leaders as Palace says he will speak ‘sadly’ about slave trade
Commonwealth rallies have a habit of being loudpublished at 2:12 p.m. GMT
Chris Mason
Political editor, Antigua
Fifty-six Commonwealth countries are represented here.
This gathering every two years has a habit of taking place noisily, as this club with a long and often difficult history now struggles to find a purpose and a future.
British diplomats see value in a collection of countries, many small, scattered across the world and with a combined population of 2.7 billion – and not involving America, China or Russia.
But after the Samoa summit two years ago was dominated by reparations, the UK this time tried to neutralize or at least calm the issue in advance.
A formal apology is expected next year and there is talk of trying to ease the burden of spiraling interest payments on the debt.
Gn world
