UK’s King Charles expresses ‘sorrow’ in Antigua over slave trade

Caribbean nations call for reparations as King Charles stops short of issuing an apology for colonial-era slavery.

King Charles III has said at the official opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua and Barbuda that the transatlantic slave trade fills him with “horror” and “the most profound personal sorrow”.

The British monarch said on Tuesday that the slave trade “still casts a shadow over these [Caribbean] islands and other members of our Commonwealth”, and that the Royal Navy had played “a leading role” in ending it.

“We cannot change the actions of those who came before us,” Charles said. “We can, however, learn from the past.”

The king said he was seeking ways to address the wrongs by improving access to education, investing in jobs, encouraging trade among Commonwealth countries and pushing for climate resilience.

He ended the speech short of the apology that many Caribbean and African countries had hoped for. He offered no measures to address the economic and social damage of slavery.

Buckingham Palace had said the king would not issue a formal apology for slavery during his Caribbean tour, which also took him to the Bahamas and Guyana.

Guyanese President Mohamed Irfaan Ali said in an interview that an apology should be the king’s next step.

The dispute surfaced at the last Commonwealth summit in Samoa in 2024, when leaders called for discussions about reparations despite opposition from then-British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Last week, current British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the UK was open to a formal apology, while ruling out financial reparations.

Burnham, writing in The Guardian, said he wanted “to express my sorrow and regret for the pain and suffering of so many millions of people”.

He also proposed leading a programme of debt restructuring to help the Commonwealth’s poorest countries.

Ahead of Charles’s speech on Tuesday, a small group of protesters outside the venue held signs reading “Acknowledge the wrong. Commit to repair.”

“Technically, we’re free, but mentally a lot of us aren’t,” said Shana Michelle, from Antigua. “You have to apologise, yes. That is where we start with the repair.”

Leaders, including Burnham, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, were among those in attendance on Tuesday.

The Commonwealth has 56 member nations. Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne said, “No nation should be forced to mortgage its future simply to survive its present.”