UK’s King Charles expresses ‘sorrow’ in Antigua over slave trade

Caribbean nations call for reparations as King Charles stops short of issuing an apology for colonial-era slavery.

Al JazeeraAl Jazeera Staff2026-11-03 18:32查看原文 ↗

Caribbean nations call for reparations as King Charles stops short of issuing an apology for colonial-era slavery.

Britain's King Charles III delivers a speech during the 28th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) opening ceremony at the National Performing Arts Centre, in St John's, Antigua and Barbuda, on November 3, 2026 [Ben Stansall/AFP]

King Charles III has said at the official opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua and Barbuda that the transatlantic slave trade fills him with “horror” and “the most profound personal sorrow”.

The British monarch said on Tuesday that the slave trade “still casts a shadow over these [Caribbean] islands and other members of our Commonwealth”, and that the Royal Navy had played “a leading role” in ending it.

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“We cannot change the actions of those who came before us,” Charles said. “We can, however, learn from the past.”

The king 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.

He ended the speech short of the apology that many Caribbean and African countries had hoped for. He offered no measures to address the economic and social damage of slavery.

Buckingham Palace had said the king would not issue a formal apology for slavery 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 last Commonwealth summit in Samoa in 2024, when leaders called for discussions about 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.

Burnham, writing in The Guardian, said he wanted “to express my sorrow and regret for the pain and suffering of so many millions of people”.

He also proposed leading a programme of debt restructuring to help the Commonwealth’s poorest countries.

Ahead of Charles’s speech on Tuesday, a small group of protesters outside the venue held signs reading “Acknowledge the wrong. Commit to repair.”

“Technically, we’re free, but mentally a lot of us aren’t,” said Shana Michelle, from Antigua. “You have to apologise, yes. That is where we start with the repair.”

Leaders, including Burnham, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, were among those in attendance on Tuesday.

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.”

加勒比海国家呼吁赔偿，而查理国王却迟迟不愿就殖民时代的奴隶制道歉。

2026年11月3日，英国国王查尔斯三世在安提瓜和巴布达圣约翰国家表演艺术中心举行的第28届英联邦政府首脑会议（CHOGM）开幕式上发表讲话。[Ben Stansall/AFP]

查理三世国王在安提瓜和巴布达举行的英联邦政府首脑会议（CHOGM）正式开幕式上表示，跨大西洋奴隶贸易让他感到“恐惧”和“最深切的个人悲痛”。

英国女王周二表示，奴隶贸易“仍然给这些（加勒比）岛屿和我们英联邦的其他成员蒙上了阴影”，皇家海军在结束奴隶贸易方面发挥了“领导作用”。

列表 1/3：英国是否有法律义务纠正奴隶制造成的伤害？

查尔斯国王加勒比海之旅（共 3 项）之 2：他会讨论奴隶制赔偿问题吗？

3/3 查理国王访问加勒比海，与此同时，要求对奴隶制进行赔偿的呼声日益高涨

查尔斯说：“我们无法改变前人的行为，但我们可以从历史中吸取教训。”

国王表示，他正在寻求各种途径来解决这些问题，包括改善教育机会、投资就业、鼓励英联邦国家之间的贸易以及推动气候适应能力建设。

他演讲结束时并未像许多加勒比和非洲国家所希望的那样做出道歉。他也没有提出任何措施来解决奴隶制造成的经济和社会损害。

白金汉宫曾表示，国王在加勒比海之旅期间不会就奴隶制问题正式道歉，此次加勒比海之旅还包括巴哈马和圭亚那。

圭亚那总统穆罕默德·伊尔凡·阿里在接受采访时表示，国王下一步应该做的就是道歉。