On a bright Wednesday morning, King Charles III and Queen Camilla formally took their leave of Antigua and Barbuda, drawing a close to their official engagement with the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) hosted across the Caribbean nation. The send-off at V.C. Bird International Airport was a full ceremonial affair, attended by Antigua and Barbuda’s highest ranking state and public safety officials: Governor-General Sir Rodney Williams and his wife Lady Williams, alongside Chief of Defence Staff Brigadier General Telbert Benjamin and Royal Police Force Commissioner Everton Jeffers, all gathered to extend formal farewells to the royal couple. The Royal Police Force Band led the proceedings with a stirring rendition of the British national anthem “God Save the King”, immediately followed by a rousing performance of Antigua and Barbuda’s own national anthem. A crisp, formal military salute unfolded moments later, as the Royal Standard representing the British monarch and the national flag of Antigua and Barbuda were both ceremonially lowered to mark the end of the royal couple’s official presence on the nation’s soil. Prior to boarding their travel aircraft, King Charles III carried out a longstanding royal protocol tradition, inspecting a meticulously assembled guard of honour composed of local service personnel. He then joined Queen Camilla aboard the United Kingdom government’s RAF Voyager aircraft to depart the territory. This exit from Antigua and Barbuda marks the full conclusion of an eight-day cross-Caribbean royal tour for King Charles III, which previously included state visits to two other regional Commonwealth nations: the Bahamas and Guyana. Queen Camilla, who joined the monarch specifically for the Antigua and Barbuda leg of the journey, accompanied him for the duration of the CHOGM proceedings held in the twin-island nation.