The King of the United Kingdom, Charles III, expresses his “horror” at slavery, a “monstrous injustice”

Charles III described slavery as a “monstrous injustice” on Tuesday, November 3, at the opening of the summit of leaders of the Commonwealth countries, organized this year in Antigua and Barbuda. “This shameful chapter in history fills my heart with horror and my soul with the deepest sadness,” declared the British sovereign and head of the Commonwealth, adding that he wanted to “work to correct the mistakes of the past by acting for the future”.

"We cannot change the actions of those who came before us. We can, however, learn from them," he said, acknowledging that the transatlantic slave trade "still casts its shadow over these islands and other members of the Commonwealth." Charles III made a several-day tour of the Caribbean, starting in the Bahamas. “It is right that we recognize the great suffering and injustices of the past on these islands and beyond, even as we rejoice in present successes and create new opportunities for the future,” he told a youth gathering.

Several countries are demanding an official apology for the United Kingdom's role in the transatlantic slave trade, and even reparations. But political action by the United Kingdom can only come from the government, Buckingham Palace stressed, recalling the constitutional position of neutrality of the sovereign both in the United Kingdom and at the head of the Commonwealth.

The British Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, who arrived in July, seems ready to move in this direction. In recent days, he announced that he wanted to open a “structured dialogue” with the Commonwealth countries, with the aim of arriving at the expression of an official apology. He is scheduled to speak at the leaders' summit in St. John's on Tuesday. The Labor head of government, however, ruled out the prospect of financial reparations as requested by several leaders of this organization made up of 56 countries, mainly former British colonies.