King Charles III called the transatlantic slave trade a monstrous injustice on Tuesday as he opened a Commonwealth summit in St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda, where United Kingdom leader Andy Burnham is holding talks about apologising for Britain’s role in slavery.
The monarch told the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that slavery still casts a shadow over these islands and other members of the 56-nation group, many of them former British colonies. He said that shameful chapter of history fills his heart with horror and his soul with the most profound personal sorrow. He added that history also teaches that evil need not have the last word, and that character and courage overcame that injustice through the determination to end the international trade in enslaved people, in which the Royal Navy played a leading role.
Burnham, the Labour premier in office since July, is using the summit to discuss a formal apology for Britain’s role in a trade that brought about 10–15 million enslaved people from Africa to the Americas over four centuries. At the weekend he said he was open to saying sorry but ruled out the financial reparations demanded by some Caribbean countries. Britain has never formally apologised for slavery or agreed to pay reparations.
The UK royal family benefited from the trade, but Charles is politically neutral and is not expected to offer an apology. A palace spokesperson said it would not be appropriate for the king to announce a change in government policy.
On Monday Burnham discussed slavery with Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, one of several bilateral meetings planned at the summit. Downing Street said they discussed how Britain was offering a structured dialogue for communities impacted by the transatlantic slave trade, including the next steps.
Writing in the Guardian on Saturday, Burnham said he would have difficult conversations to safeguard the Commonwealth’s future. He wrote that listening to calls for a formal apology on behalf of the British state will form an important part of this process and that he is open to them. He insisted reparations were not the right answer and that British people today should not be held liable for historical wrongs, however heinous.
London is instead pursuing a debt-reset plan for the poorest Commonwealth countries, led by former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown, which could alter interest rates on repayments. The UK will also allocate £40 million (US$54 million) over three years for infrastructure improvements in the Caribbean, including renewable energy.
Slavery has loomed over the 77-year-old king’s nine-day visit to three Caribbean countries. When he arrived in the Bahamas last week, small groups of protesters waved placards reading “Pay what you owe us.” He acknowledged the great suffering of the past during that stop.
The BBC reported on Tuesday that Britain was likely to apologise during its G20 presidency next year. The country profited for centuries from colonialism and slavery, but argues it also led the way in abolition. In 1833 Parliament passed a law to abolish slavery in most of the British Empire.
Opposition Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said Britain should not apologise, arguing it would boost countries’ claims for financial compensation. At the previous Commonwealth meeting in Samoa in 2024, 56 nations signed a communique backing talks on reparatory justice after then-prime minister Keir Starmer tried to avoid the issue. Burnham has said his government is pursuing a new approach. Britain’s role in slavery has long strained relations with former colonies, including an awkward Commonwealth leaders’ meeting in 2024.