Madar (International) - King Charles III said on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, that the transatlantic slave trade fills him with "horror" and "the most profound personal sorrow", speaking at the official opening of the 28th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in St John's, Antigua and Barbuda, Al Jazeera English reported, citing AP.
The British monarch said the slave trade "still casts a shadow over these 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," he said. "We can, however, learn from the past."
Charles 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. But he stopped short of the apology many Caribbean and African countries had hoped for, and offered no measures to address the economic and social damage of slavery. Buckingham Palace had said he would not issue a formal apology 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 previous Commonwealth summit in Samoa in 2024, when leaders called for discussions on 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. Writing in The Guardian, he also proposed leading a programme of debt restructuring to help the Commonwealth's poorest countries.
Ahead of the speech, a small group of protesters outside the venue held signs reading "Acknowledge the wrong. Commit to repair." 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."
