Bermuda scrubs-up ahead of Charles' royal visit - as church removes photo of King with Diana and locals cull chickens to ensure His Majesty gets a good night's sleep

By PETER SHERIDAN IN ST GEORGE'S Published: 01:27, 26 April 2026 | Updated: 01:29, 26 April 2026 The silver platter and chalice gifted by King William III and Queen Mary 329 years ago have been polished to a high shine. The ceremonial throne has been dusted, the royal pews burnished, the walls painted and the windows washed. St Peter's, the oldest Anglican church outside Britain, is ready for its visit from the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, King Charles, on Friday. But one treasure from its 414-year history will be missing. The large photo of Charles's last visit to the church in 1982, with Princess Diana, heavily pregnant with Prince William, has been removed from its display case to spare the King any possible embarrassment. Church leaders feared the King might be mortified to find himself confronted with a glaring reminder of the marriage he destroyed and the Commandment against adultery that he shattered with his future Queen, Camilla. 'We removed it recently,' confesses Rev Thomas Nisbett, 67. 'The ladies of the church thought it would be more sensitive if that reminder of the past wasn't there. 'And one doesn't argue with the ladies of the church.' The then-Prince and Princess of Wales leaving London's Heathrow airport for Bermuda in 1982 In its place, the display case now holds a photograph of Charles opening Parliament during his first visit to the island in 1970. The King, aged 77, arrives in Bermuda on Thursday for a three-day visit, following his US State visit, which begins tomorrow. Queen Camilla, who accompanies the King in America, will skip the tropical island and fly home. Frantic preparations for the royal visit have plunged islanders into a rare frenzy of activity. Gardeners are out in force trimming roadsides where the King will travel, painters are applying touch-ups to businesses and homes he will pass, builders race to complete construction at venues he will tour, and – though it might horrify eco-friendly Charles – hunters are out to kill the wild chickens that infest the island, whose crowing may give His Majesty some sleepless nights. Since hurricane Emily in 1987 destroyed thousands of domestic chicken coops, the fowl have overrun Bermuda. 'Feral chickens are all over the island,' says Mark Outerbridge, senior biodiversity officer for Bermuda's Department Of Environment. 'They're a problem for farmers, eating crops and fruit. And there's the noise issue with loud roosters that crow all through the night. 'We trap, sedate and euthanise the chickens. But even if we trap all of the feral chickens around Charles's residence in Bermuda, he's still likely to hear the crowing. There's so many I'm not sure we'll ever be rid of them.' In King's Square in the historic colonial township of St George's, preparations for Charles's visit aspire to spare the royal nasal passages from offence by unclogging blocked sewers. 'I hope the King is happy!' says a worker as he hauls a wedge of grease from a manhole brimming with sludge. 'It's not like Charles will be inspecting our sewers, but it wouldn't be good if they overflowed when he's giving a speech. Sewage everywhere! 'It's disgusting in there,' he says, peering into the murky drain. 'The sewage was blocked, completely clogged, and on hot days can really smell. They don't want that with King Charles coming.' But taxi driver Mark Steede complains: 'Why do they have to do this clean-up for King Charles during the day, block traffic and make a mess of the roads? There's giant sanitation trucks blocking the streets. It's not like Charles is going to say: "Can I take a look at your sewers?"' Entrepreneur Hunter Pitcher says: 'They're cleaning up every street where Charles is going to be driven. Every hedge and lawn and tree is being manicured. The rest of the island – not so much.' St Peter's Church in St George's, Bermuda, was founded in 1612 and is the oldest surviving Anglican church in continuous use outside the British Isles At the Great Bay Coast Guard Station, which Charles will officially open, workers are scrambling to finish the parking area and install all the tech in time. 'Charles can come, but I don't know that we'll have the station operating by then,' admits one worker. The King will also meet with UK Space Agency scientists to learn about a planned space telescope. Though its location has not been disclosed, insiders believe it will be built alongside the Nasa tracking station on Cooper's Island, which recently supplied telemetry for the Artemis II lunar mission. 'The electronic gate outside the Nasa station used to be broken, but now the King's coming it's working again,' says Hunter Pitcher. 'Thank you King Charles! Long live the King!' After Charles's potentially fraught US visit with a volatile and unpredictable President Trump, he might be hoping for an easier ride in Bermuda – yet awkward moments may still loom. He will meet the premier, David Burt, who has said independence is the 'next step' for Bermuda, and called British rule 'unacceptable in a modern democracy.' No major protests are expected, and Bermuda's governor Andrew Murdoch says of anti-royal sentiment: 'It's been more of a kind of silence rather than protest.' A senior police officer confirmed: 'Security is being heightened for the King's visit. We'll be taking no chances.' Since Hurricane Emily destroyed thousands of domestic chicken coops in 1987, the fowl have overrun Bermuda Police hope there will not be a repeat of the incident during his 1970 trip, when officers discovered a suspicious object hidden in his bed, which turned out to be not a bomb but spare bed legs. Charles will visit an exhibition on the slave trade, and in the past has expressed his 'personal sorrow' at slavery, though he has stopped short of an official apology. 'The least the King can do is apologise for slavery,' says lawyer and historian Cheryl Packwood. 'The monarchy had slaves, supported slavery and signed all the legislation regarding slavery.' The King's packed diary includes meeting with local politicians, students learning about the environment, youth groups and athletes heading for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this year. But when Charles visits St Peter's church he may yet find a rare moment of respite. 'He will be given the opportunity to pray, if he wishes,' says Rev Nisbett. 'He is, after all, the Defender of the Faith.' Perhaps he should pray that the sewers don't overflow. The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. 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