King Charles will not formally apologise for Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade during his upcoming Caribbean tour.this month, following the official advice of the UK government.
His Majesty is set to fly into a storm over the issue at the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua, with campaigners already warning him ‘not to come empty-handed’.
He is also visiting Guyana and The Bahamas, where the Bahamas National Reparations Committee (BRNC) has urged him to issue a formal apology for the Crown’s own ‘undeniable’ links to slavery.
‘For King Charles to come to our island and not be prepared to apologise for the wrongs of the past is unacceptable,’ its chair Dr Niambi Hall Campbell-Dean has said.
But announcing further details of Their Majesties ‘autumn tour’ today, Buckingham Palace made clear that King Charles would act only on the advice of his government.
The UK government has declined to offer formal apologies or financial compensation, maintaining the legal view that historical acts were not illegal under international law when they occurred.
Officials at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) confirmed that the Government ‘has not advised His Majesty to apologise or pay reparations’ in line with official policy.
A spokesman said: ‘The Government’s position on reparations is well established. The Government absolutely acknowledges that the transatlantic trade in enslaved people was abhorrent, and that the impacts of that were horrific and do endure to today.
‘The Government has been clear that it will not pay financial reparations.
‘The Government is committed to continue dialogue with Commonwealth partners, and, indeed, the Prime Minister, at the time, committed to that again at the last CHOGM, to meaningful, truthful, and respectful dialogue, and also, we’re committed to working with Commonwealth partners to understand the legacies of the past and to work with them, to build modern, forward looking partnerships that are in all countries’ benefits.’
