King Charles’s upcoming Caribbean tour will not avoid discussions about slavery and colonial legacy, Buckingham Palace has said, as Commonwealth nations continue to debate apologies and reparations.
Charles is expected to face renewed calls to apologise for the United Kingdom’s role in the transatlantic trade in enslaved people before attending a major gathering of Commonwealth leaders in Antigua and Barbuda with the Queen. Reparations—whether through financial compensation or other forms of redress—are also likely to be raised during his solo visits to The Bahamas and Guyana.
The King acts on the guidance of his ministers. It is understood that the Government has not advised him to offer an apology or reparations, in line with its established policy.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said discussions about colonial legacy and the intergenerational effects of the transatlantic trade in enslaved people were taking place in several forums. Although these matters were primarily for governments, the spokesperson said Charles had previously described slavery as an “atrocity” that “forever stains our history”.
“The visit programme will therefore not shy away from ‘the darkest days of our past’, as His Majesty has described them,” the spokesperson said. At the same time, the programme would focus mainly on “the vibrant present and promising future” of each country, with activities developed in consultation with the host governments.
The Palace also said the tour would provide opportunities to reflect Charles’s “personal, wholehearted and continuing commitment” to acknowledging historical wrongs and addressing inequalities that remain.
### Government maintains opposition to reparations
The question of reparations has become increasingly prominent among Commonwealth nations. The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly backed a resolution in March declaring the transatlantic slave trade “the gravest crime against humanity”. The United Kingdom and European Union member states were among 52 countries that abstained in the vote.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who is expected to attend the Commonwealth summit with Prime Minister Andy Burnham, recently reiterated the Government’s position in an interview with Politico.
“I don’t think reparations are the answer, and I’ve had those discussions already with some of our Commonwealth colleagues,” he said.
The UK Government acknowledges that the trade in enslaved people was abhorrent and that its effects continue to be felt. However, it says it will not pay financial reparations for historical acts that did not breach international law at the time, while remaining committed to dialogue with Commonwealth nations.
The Palace spokesperson said that questions of reparations and apologies were matters for the Government, rather than the King. The spokesperson also pointed to Charles’s support for Commonwealth education programmes and his longstanding work with young people through the King’s Trust as examples of his efforts to address inequalities.
### Royal links to slavery
Britain’s royal family has a long historical association with the transportation and sale of enslaved people for profit. Elizabeth I backed the dealings of John Hawkins, identified in the supplied account as one of Britain’s first slave traders. Charles II supported the expansion of the enterprise by granting a charter to the Royal Adventurers, which later became the Royal African Company. He also invested private funds in the company, as did the Duke of York.
The company’s charter stated that the initials “DY”, referring to the Duke of York, were branded on the left buttock or breast of many enslaved people transported by the company to the Caribbean’s “sugar islands”.
Abolitionists campaigning against the trade faced opposition from the Duke of Clarence, the son of George III who later became William IV.
Charles acknowledged this history during a ceremony marking Barbados’s transition to a republic in 2021. He described slavery as an “appalling atrocity” that “forever stains our history”. The following year, while opening a Commonwealth summit in Rwanda, he said he was on a personal journey of discovery and continuing to “deepen my own understanding of slavery’s enduring impact”.
### Calls for action continue
Barbados’s Prime Minister Mia Mottley, whose administration replaced Queen Elizabeth II as head of state, led Caribbean leaders who launched a new slavery reparations manifesto at a conference in Ghana in June.
Last month, a Jamaican delegation travelled to the UK to file a petition asking the King to refer three questions about transatlantic chattel slavery to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Jamaica’s highest court of appeal.
Olivia Grange, Jamaica’s minister of culture, gender, entertainment and sport, questioned why Jamaica should not seek reparations while Britain was still paying debt linked to compensation for slave owners 11 years ago.
The upcoming tour will take Charles to The Bahamas from October 27 to 29, followed by a state visit to Guyana from October 29 to 30. He will then attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda with the Queen from November 1 to 4.
According to Buckingham Palace, the programme will acknowledge the historical issues raised by the host nations while concentrating on their current priorities and future prospects. Whether those discussions lead to renewed calls for an apology or reparations remains uncertain, but the Palace has indicated that the subject will not be excluded from the King’s engagements.
