King calls slave trade a 'shameful chapter' during Commonwealth address

King Charles has described the transatlantic slave trade as a "shameful chapter of history" that filled him with "profound sorrow" as he opened a summit of Commonwealth leaders in the Caribbean. Speaking at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) in Antigua and Barbuda, the King said the trade in enslaved persons "still casts a shadow" over the association of nations. There have been calls from some for the UK to make a formal apology for its historic role in the slave trade ahead of the summit, but no such apology featured in the King's address. He did, however, offer some contrition and acknowledged that he had personally learnt more about the legacy of the slave trade. "The transatlantic trade in enslaved persons still casts a shadow over these islands and other members of our Commonwealth," 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 told the summit: "The more I have furthered my own understanding of the issues, through listening, learning and looking, the more committed I have become to finding ways for us to work in modern partnership to address the wrongs of the past with action for the future." The King also reflected on the weight of history, saying: "History is not ours to choose or to change. It is bequeathed to us in complex synthesis by forebears we can never know. Our inheritance includes both their achievements and their failures, the good they did as well as the wrongs." Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who is also attending the summit, has previously said he is open to Britain issuing a formal apology, but that financial reparations were "not the right answer". The King's address also referenced the "brutal conflicts" the world is facing, the "catastrophic reality" of climate change and rapid technological development. Chogm gathers leaders from 56 states every two years in a different part of the Commonwealth, a voluntary grouping made up primarily of former territories of the British Empire. The official theme of this year's biennial meeting is Accelerating Partnerships and Investment for a Prosperous Commonwealth. The King and Queen are on a tour of the Caribbean which has reignited difficult debates over the UK's colonial legacy in the region. On the first stop in the Bahamas, the King delivered a speech in which he spoke of the "suffering of the past", and in Guyana he visited the site of a slave rebellion where hundreds of enslaved people were killed. Buckingham Palace has previously said the King's role is not policy making, in response to the debate over a slavery apology.