Britainupdated 40m ago3 min read
Archive photo · 10 July 2023Buckingham Palace Says King Charles III Won’t Make Policy as Slavery Apology Row Threatens CHOGM
4 Western Mainstream1 Latin American1 Other1 West AsianPhoto: White House / US federal government, Public domain · Cropped for layout
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Buckingham Palace says King's role is non-policy; he won't oversee apologies or reparations discussions. Prime Minister Andy Burnham open to apology but rejects Britain paying reparations for slave trade.
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Palace Deflects Policy
Buckingham Palace said the King’s role as head of the Commonwealth is about "inspiring and convening, rather than policy making" as the slavery apology row threatens to dominate the summit in Antigua and Barbuda. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham suggested there could be some form of apology over slavery while ruling out financial reparations, and Burnham said the UK "must face up to the past" over the "brutal and barbaric violation" of the slave trade. Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch rejected "endless talk about apologies" as a "distraction" from solving current problems, while Gaston Brown, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, said the consequences of slavery "have not disappeared with the passage of time" and wants to discuss reparations.
Buckingham Palace said the King’s most significant contribution has been helping to connect leaders, institutions and investors, and it described the Commonwealth as a "family" of nations. The King is to deliver a speech on Tuesday expected to recognise the painful legacy of slavery, but the Palace said the speech will have to reflect the position of the UK government.
Burnham Opens Door
Andy Burnham told the public he was "open" to calls for a formal British apology for its role in the transatlantic slave trade but ruled out reparations, and he wrote in The Guardian that Britain would offer a "structured dialogue" with those affected. Burnham said he "do not think that British people today can be held liable for historical wrongs" and instead sought to launch a drive on debt-servicing to help countries repay over a longer time period with better rates. Ed Miliband said an apology for slavery could help Britain "build stronger relationships" with Commonwealth countries affected by slavery, and Miliband said a formal apology would be a significant step.
Miliband also said the dialogue would consider whether and how a formal apology could help acknowledge the history, help heal the division, and support stronger relationships for the future. Kemi Badenoch warned that an apology would give countries a reason to ask Britain for reparations, saying, "I don’t think we should be giving any money to compensate people for the slave trade".
Commonwealth Stakes Rise
King Charles III faced a relentless demand to apologize for the British monarch’s institution’s role in the slave trade, and the issue was expected to center on the 28th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting chaired by Charles III at Antigua and Barbuda. The El Mundo account said leaders from the 56 nations that make up the alliance began arriving yesterday, and it described the meeting as the place where Charles III would speak with "unbreakable honesty" and "sincere sadness" about the enduring pain of the transatlantic slave trade. Latin Times said the CARICOM Reparations Commission described CHOGM 2026 as the "reparations CHOGM" and said Caribbean heads of government coordinated an agenda designed to move the issue into the center of the summit.
Latin Times also said a March 2026 vote at the United Nations General Assembly saw 123 member states adopt a Ghana-led resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade the gravest crime against humanity, with the UK abstaining. The BBC said the King’s speech will have to reflect the position of the UK government, and it said any formal apology and any action on reparations on behalf of the UK would be a decision for political leaders.
