King Charles reunites with Queen Camilla to go litter picking in Antigua

The King and Queen reunited for a beach clean-up as their tour of the Caribbean drew to a close.

Charles and Camilla, armed with litter pickers, took it in turn to put rubbish in a black sack, with the Queen walking barefoot on the sands of Fort James Beach in Antigua after taking off her shoes.

Jennifer Meranto, founder and chief executive of Adopt a Coastline, and two of her organisation’s youth ambassadors, told the couple about the campaign to care for the island’s coastline.

The King was “shocked” to hear that 71 bags of rubbish were collected from the beach that morning in just two hours.

Other organisations had gathered on the beach to meet the royals and Chantal Miller, founder of Island Girls Rock, who has collaborated with Adopt a Coastline, said of their conversation: “He was shocked that we picked up so much in that short a time.”

The King was then surprised to learn that she is best friends with his goddaughter, Fiona Compton, and told her: “Small world.”

The artist is the founder of Know Your Caribbean, which works to address Afro-Caribbean representation disparities in global art and media, and her father, the late Saint Lucia prime minister Sir John Compton, formed a close friendship with the King.

Later that night, a banquet for Commonwealth leaders was the King’s last event the last event in a nine-day tour of the Caribbean that included a state visit to Guyana, a trip to the Bahamas and a final leg in Antigua to open the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm).

Speaking to dinner guests, including Andy Burnham, Charles praised the Commonwealth, saying: “It is one of the few organisations 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.

“Although perhaps part of my role as Head of the Commonwealth is to provide an umbrella for you all,” he quipped.

The joke was made in reference to footage of Charles raising his arms and calling for an umbrella on Sunday as torrential rain fell moments after he arrived at a cricket stadium for Antigua and Barbuda independence celebrations.

Charles and Camilla will fly home on the ministerial jet Voyager after being waved off by Antigua’s governor-general, Sir Rodney Williams and his wife, Lady Williams.