For his first formal address as head of the Commonwealth, King Charles would probably have preferred to veer away from controversy. Unfortunately, delivering an anodyne and people pleasing speech was not on the agenda.

Ever since it was announced that Samoa would be hosting a gathering of the 56 Commonwealth countries, it was inevitable that the hot-button issues of imperialism and western complicity in the slave trade would be high on the agenda, and the vexed issue of potential reparations has, inevitably, dominated proceedings so far.