The Prince is expected to reminisce about his first visit to the island 50 years ago, and praise the “invaluable contribution” of the Barbadian diaspora in the UK.

His visit is intended as a gracious acknowledgement of Barbados’s decision to replace the Queen as head of state.

On Tuesday, the current governor-general Dame Sandra Mason will become president on the same day as the country celebrates its 55th anniversary of independence from Britain.

It is the first time a senior member of the Royal Family has attended the ceremonial transition of a realm to a republic.

Many Barbadians, regardless of their views, are dismayed at the decision of the ruling Barbados Labour Party (BLP) to push through a major constitutional change with little consultation.

The Prince has previously attended such handover ceremonies as a representative of the Queen, most recently in Zimbabwe in 1980 when Britain’s last African colony became independent.

In 1997 he was present at the handover of Hong Kong, where he watched the lowering of the Union flag and told its people: “We shall not forget you.”

The Prince last visited Barbados in March 2019 during a Caribbean tour with the Duchess of Cornwall.

He was due to land in Bridgetown shortly before midnight local time on Sunday and will undertake several engagements on the two-day trip.

Mia Mottley, the country’s prime minister, will award him the Order of the Freedom of Barbados, the country’s highest honour.

The BLP which won all 30 seats in the country’s lower parliament in 2018, wiping out representation from the Democratic Labour Party (DLP), which then held power did not pledge to make Barbados a republic in its manifesto.