Prince Charles, Camilla arrive in Bahrain and meet its king

MANAMA, Bahrain — Britain’s Prince Charles and his wife Camilla arrived Tuesday in the tiny island nation of Bahrain and met with its king and crown prince as part of their three-nation Gulf tour.

An honour guard and Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa greeted the royal pair at Sakhir Air Base. From there, they saw Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa at a nearby palace.

But while British and Bahraini flags flew along their route at sunset, nearby police vehicles with windows covered in chicken wire betrayed the low-level unrest that’s been gripping the island for years.

Activists have criticized Bahrain’s rulers for a recent crackdown on dissent at a level unseen since the 2011 Arab Spring. Activists have been forced into exile, while others have been stripped of their citizenship. The country’s largest Shiite opposition group has been shut down by the Sunni-led government.