King Charles Acknowledges Britain’s “Painful” Past at Commonwealth Summit

On Friday, King Charles addressed the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa, delivering one of the most important speeches of his reign so far.

Charles, who succeeded his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, as head of the Commonwealth, addressed Commonwealth leaders, foreign ministers, and dignitaries during his first CHOGM as king following a successful tour of Australia in recent days.

After attending the formal opening ceremony with Queen Camilla, Charles delivered an address in which he touched on some of the major issues facing the Commonwealth. In his debut speech to the 56-member group, the king spoke about slavery and Britain’s role in the slave trade saying, “none of us can change the past” but that leaders could learn from history and find “creative ways to right inequalities that endure.”

As calls grow for Britain to pay reparations to the families of those affected by the transatlantic slave trade, Charles used his speech to play the role of peacemaker, saying that leaders should find the “right ways and the right language” to address inequality and Britain’s role in it.

The tensions around the subject have overshadowed recent royal tours, including Prince William and Kate Middleton’s tour of the Caribbean. However, while King Charles did not issue a formal apology, he acknowledged the pain of the past and the need to move forward, telling the Commonwealth Heads of Government, “Our cohesion requires that we acknowledge where we have come from. I understand from listening to people across the Commonwealth how the most painful aspects of our past continue to resonate. It is vital therefore that we understand our history, to guide us to make the right choices in the future.”

From the 1500s, the UK benefitted from the slave trade and transported over 3 million enslaved Africans to the Caribbean and North America, according to Parliament’s Heritage Collections. While Britain abolished slavery in the Commonwealth in the 19th century, some Commonwealth leaders have called on the UK to pay financial compensation for its role in the slave trade. These reparations could potentially run into trillions of pounds.

King Charles did not directly refer to slavery during his address, but said, “Let us choose within our Commonwealth family the language of community and respect, and reject the language of division.”

Previously King Charles had spoken of his “personal sorrow at the suffering of so many” at the 2022 summit, and there was huge pressure on him to get the tone right at Friday’s summit. Aides say that he has demonstrated his ability to be both an international statesman and a peacekeeper while leaving the politics to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who was also in attendance.

While King Charles is head of state, the monarch is not supposed to express political opinions and must uphold the government’s position. The UK government has not issued an apology for slavery, with Starmer telling leaders at the summit that Britain must “acknowledge our shared history—especially when it’s hard.” He added in an interview with the BBC, “We can’t change our history, but we should certainly talk about our history.”

Charles, who paused his cancer treatment while visiting Australia and Samoa, has kept the focus of his addresses at CHOGM to having open conversations. The theme of this year’s event in Samoa was One Resilient Future: Transforming Our Common Wealth.

The king also used the summit to focus the Commonwealth’s attention on climate change, warning that “if we do not [take action], then inequalities across the Commonwealth and beyond will only be exacerbated with the potential to fuel division and conflict.”

Charles also echoed the promise he made in his accession speech, vowing to serve the Commonwealth and its people “for however many years God grants me.”

The king delivered another address on Friday evening at a dinner for the CHOGM heads of government.

The summit concludes Charles and Camilla’s overseas tour, which included a mostly successful six-day-long visit to Sydney. It was King Charles’s first visit to Australia as monarch and despite some anti-monarchy protestations, the trip has been deemed a success.

The royal couple were said to be “delighted” with the reception they received in Australia, where crowds gathered at the Sydney Opera House to greet them as they closed the tour with a visit to the world-famous landmark to mark its 50th anniversary.