Aysu Biçer
03 November 2026•Update: 03 November 2026
King Charles III on Tuesday expressed “the most profound personal sorrow” over the transatlantic slave trade, describing it as a “shameful chapter of history” that continues to cast a shadow over Commonwealth countries.
Addressing the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua, the British monarch said history carried both the achievements and failures of previous generations, adding that its consequences continued to resonate in the present.
"History is not ours to choose or to change. It is bequeathed to us in complex synthesis by forebears we can never know," he said. "Our inheritance includes both their achievements and their failures, the good they did, as well as the wrongs."
Charles said that while the actions of previous generations could not be changed, lessons could be drawn from the past.
"We cannot change the actions of those who came before us. We can, however, learn from the past," he said.
"The transatlantic trade in enslaved persons still casts a shadow over these islands, and other members of our Commonwealth," he added.
Describing his personal response to the history of slavery, the King said: "As I have said before, that shameful chapter of history is one that fills my heart with horror and my soul with the most profound personal sorrow."
He also highlighted the role of those who fought to end the international slave trade, saying history demonstrated that injustice could be overcome through determination and courage.
"And yet, history also teaches us that evil need not have the last word, that character and courage can combine to overcome the most monstrous injustice, as they did with the determination to end international trade in enslaved people, in which the Royal Navy played such a leading role," he said.
The King's remarks come after British Prime Minister Andy Burnham suggested he would be open to the monarch issuing a formal apology for slavery to the Commonwealth, a proposal firmly opposed by the Conservatives.
