Ceremonial welcome for Charles and Camilla in Samoa

The King and Queen received a ceremonial welcome when they arrived in Samoa for a four-day state visit.

The royal couple flew to the Polynesian nation, which is hosting a major gathering of Commonwealth leaders, after their tour of Australia – the first by Charles as King.

Charles will preside over the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, taking part for the first time as its head.

He will formally open the global summit on Friday but plays no part in the discussions between the presidents and prime ministers – including Sir Keir Starmer – which take place informally behind closed doors and unusually no advisers or aides are present.

Soon after the Royal Australian Air Force plane carrying the King and his wife Camilla left Sydney the couple posted a message on social media under their names.

They wrote: “As we head towards Apia, we can’t wait to visit Samoa for the first time together and to experience the warmth of ancient traditions with your remarkable people. Feiloa’i ma le manuia! – Charles R & Camilla R.”

The last few words in Samoan loosely translate as “Looking forward to meeting the Samoan people”.

Samoa’s prime minister Afioga Fiame Naomi Mata’afa and a long line of dignitaries were waiting to welcome the King and Queen, including the Foreign Secretary David Lammy, when their plane arrived at Faleolo International Airport.

Charles stood on a dais for the national anthem to be played and then inspected two ranks of a guard of honour formed by the Samoa Police Service.

Like many Pacific Islands Samoa has no armed forces and Charles cast his eye over the officers before going inside the terminal building for a private meeting with the Samoan prime minister.

World leaders will elect the new Commonwealth secretary-general during their meeting and all three candidates vying for the job have called for reparations to countries that were affected by slavery and colonialism.

Ahead of the summit the prime minister’s official spokesman insisted Sir Keir would not be discussing reparations at Chogm this week.

But he is facing pressure from Labour ranks and Caribbean countries to rethink his resistance to reparatory justice for the UK’s role in the slave trade as he attends the major summit.