King Charles Says No To Formal Apology For Slavery, Rules Out Reparations
King Charles will address Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade during his Caribbean tour this month without issuing a formal apology or committing to reparations.
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Buckingham Palace confirmed the monarch will not issue a formal apology during the visit, according to Reuters. Charles has described the period as the “darkest days of our past.”
Questions of apology and compensation fall to the British government and not the monarch, according to Reuters. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has restated that Britain will not pay financial reparations for slavery, the Daily Mirror reported. Charles acts on the advice of his ministers under the constitutional settlement and holds no power to change that policy alone. (RELATED: Empty Virtue Signal: San Francisco Sets Up Reparations For Black Residents, Puts $0 In Fund)
The tour sends Charles and Queen Camilla to the Bahamas from Oct. 27 to 29, followed by Guyana on Oct. 29 and 30, according to geo.tv. The couple will then travel to Antigua and Barbuda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), scheduled for Nov. 1 to 4, Reuters reported.
Jamaica handed Charles a petition last month seeking legal guidance on Britain’s reparations obligations, according to Reuters. Culture Minister Olivia Grange delivered the document in London, the Amsterdam News reported. The petition asks the Privy Council to assess whether enslavement in Jamaica was lawful under English common law and international law. Charles consented and forwarded the petition to the court. Grange has said the filing seeks legal findings rather than a fixed payment, according to NY Carib News.
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Charles has voiced personal sorrow over slavery in earlier remarks and condemned it as an “atrocity” that “forever stains our history,” ITV reported. He has also funded research into the monarchy’s own ties to the trade.
Caribbean leaders plan to raise reparations at the summit in Antigua, according to NY Carib News. In February, Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Botchwey anticipated members would begin moving toward negotiations.
European merchants trafficked at least 12.5 million Africans into slavery between the 15th and 19th centuries. Britain moved roughly 3.2 million of them, trailing only Portugal among European nations.
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