To face the dark past

After the bodies of hundreds of children were found in Canada last year, the British heir to the throne, Prince Charles, called for an inquiry when he visited North America.

“As people who share a planet, you have to find new ways to deal with the dark and very difficult aspects of the past,” he and his wife said in the Canadian city of 73. Camila, 74, began a multi-day tour on Tuesday. Part of that process is an effort for recognition, reconciliation and progress, Charles said.

The bodies of hundreds of children were found near Catholic boarding schools in Canada last year.

This provoked great outrage in the Catholic Church, which put in place facilities for tribal children who had been taken away from their families before between the 17th century and the 1990s.

Charles and Camilla travel as representatives of the President of Canada and Queen Elizabeth II, who will be sitting on the throne this year and celebrating her 70th birthday. Prior to the trip, the tribe had demanded an official apology from the royal family for treating tribal children in schools and educational institutions. Recent visits by other members of the royal family have also been obscured by protests. In the Caribbean, for example, local groups have to apologize to the royal family for slavery and other acts during colonial times.