King Charles has been warned that he may face calls to pay compensations, as the monarch supports a study digging into the history of the Royal Family’s ties to the slave trade. One researcher has warned the monarch “knows enough to apologise”.
The Palace announced yesterday that the 74-year-old monarch takes the issue “profoundly seriously” as he co-operates with researchers by giving them full access to the Royal Archives and the Royal Collection.
The research, which is carried out by the University of Manchester with Historic Royal Palaces, is expected to look into previous monarchs’ involvement in slave trade companies.
These are set to include the Royal African Company and its deputy governor, Edward Colston, whose statue was thrown into Bristol Harbour by protesters in 2020.
The research and the King’s support was lauded by many, however, some have expressed concerns it may launch calls for the Palace to pay reparations for their involvement in the the slave trade and colonialism.
Last night, Caribbean campaigners called for fresh talks about reparations.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Arley Gill, of the National Reparations Commission of Grenada, said: “The Royal Family must make repair and atonement for the people and societies that would have suffered because of their involvement in the slave trade.
“Reparations now cannot be a subject that can be swept under the royal rug of the Royal Household.”
Meanwhile, Eric Phillips, of the Caricom Reparations Commission, which represents Caribbean nations where European powers enslaved people to work on plantations, added: “King Charles knows enough to apologise, and should.”
However, ex-Tory MP Harvey Proctor countered the calls and said compensation payment shouldn’t come from the state or monarch himself.
He said: “Payment of any reparations must not come from the state. Otherwise, we should sue the French for the damage caused by the Norman Conquest in 1066 and similar to the USA for the price of the tea lost in Boston Harbour.”
Historian Rafe Heydel-Mankoo told GB News: “Only three percent of the British economy in around 1770 had any relation to the slave trade.
“So this myth that we hear a lot in this country now that the Empire, the Industrial Revolution, and the monarchy’s wealth was built on slavery is absolute nonsense.”
Historian Andrew Roberts added that the current Royal Family should not be suffering the consequences of former dynasties.
He said: “There is no justification for blaming Charles III for the actions of Charles II.”
Express.co.uk has reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment.
