King Charles has told Commonwealth leaders that the transatlantic slave trade fills him with horror and “the most profound personal sorrow”, but stopped short of an apology as protesters outside demanded reparations. The King Charles slavery remarks came at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda, on Tuesday 3 November.
King Charles slavery speech: what he said
Speaking at the National Performing Arts Centre, the King called the slave trade a shameful chapter in history and said it still casts a shadow over the Caribbean and other Commonwealth nations, Al Jazeera reported.
He said those living today could not undo what earlier generations did, but could learn from the past. He pointed to the Royal Navy’s leading role in ending the trade, and said he was looking at ways to address past wrongs through better access to education, job creation, more trade between Commonwealth members and support for climate resilience.
Crucially, the King Charles slavery address contained no apology, and offered no measures to tackle the economic and social damage left by slavery. Buckingham Palace had already said there would be no formal apology during the Caribbean tour, which also took in the Bahamas and Guyana.
Protesters demand repair
Outside the venue, demonstrators held signs calling for acknowledgement and “reparatory justice”. Antigua resident Shana Michelle said that while people were technically free, many were not mentally, and that an apology was where repair must begin.
Guyana’s President Mohamed Irfaan Ali said an apology should be the King’s next step.
Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne said significant funding had been pledged for several initiatives. He argued no country should have to mortgage its future simply to survive the present.
Burnham open to apology, not reparations
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said last week that Britain was open to a formal apology but ruled out financial reparations. He has instead proposed that the UK lead a debt restructuring programme for the Commonwealth’s poorest countries, according to the Associated Press.
The question of reparations first surfaced at the 2024 summit in Samoa, where leaders called for talks despite opposition from then-prime minister Keir Starmer.
A summit for a third of the world
The 56-nation Commonwealth represents about a third of the world’s population. Leaders at the opening included Burnham, Australia’s Anthony Albanese and Canada’s Mark Carney.
Beyond the King Charles slavery debate, the summit’s Commonwealth Nature Initiative has drawn more than $200 million in pledges towards a goal of protecting at least 30 per cent of the world’s land and oceans by 2030, the AP reported.
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Sources: Al Jazeera, The Korea Times (AP)
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