Have to face dark past

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the essentials in brief

• Prince Charles has embarked on a three-day tour of Canada.
• In a speech he emphasized that one must face the dark past.
• Hundreds of children’s bodies were found in Canada last year.

After the discovery of hundreds of children’s corpses in Canada last year, the British heir to the throne, Prince Charles, called for investigation during a visit to the North American country.

Charles wants to come to terms with the past

As a “people who share a planet, you have to find new ways to deal with the darker and more difficult aspects of the past,” said the 73-year-old in the Canadian city of St. John’s, where he and his wife Camilla (74) a multi-day tour began on Tuesday. Part of that process was recognition, reconciliation, and striving for improvement, Charles said.

Hundreds of children’s bodies were found near Catholic boarding schools in Canada last year.

represent Queen

This sparked great outrage at the Catholic Church, which between the 17th century and the 1990s placed indigenous children who had previously been taken from their families in the facilities.

Charles and Camilla are traveling to represent Queen Elizabeth II, who is the head of state of Canada and is celebrating her 70th anniversary on the throne this year. Before the trip, indigenous groups had demanded an official apology from the royal family for the treatment of indigenous children in schools and educational institutions. The recent trips by other members of the royal family have also been overshadowed by protests. In the Caribbean, for example, local groups have demanded an apology from the royals for slavery and other acts during the colonial era.