Sometimes, all people who’ve been wronged want is an apology, a formal acknowledgment that a wrongdoer does indeed recognize their mistake, but King Charles thinks otherwise. During a Commonwealth summit in Antigua and Barbuda, protestors and critics around the world facepalmed as the monarch staunchly avoided expressing any form of apology for Britain’s historical involvement in the transatlantic slave trade.
“We cannot change the actions of those who came before us. We can, however, learn from the past,” stated King Charles, which sounds as though he’s about to express what Great Britain did wrong regarding slavery and colonization. The Guardian reports that instead, the King referred to the Royal Navy as playing a key role in helping the development of enslaved people in international trade, among other things.
King Charles did acknowledge the horrors of slavery as a “shameful chapter of history” and expressed the “most profound personal sorrow” over what happened. However, without saying the word or offering any semblance of an apology, people debated whether this was enough of an acknowledgment. Needless to say, protestors outside the summit weren’t too happy about Charles’ remarks or his lack of focus on Britain’s well-documented history with the slave trade.
Reddit Was Outrage At King Charles’ Slavery Remarks, Or the Lack Thereof
“He literally CAN say anything he wants, he just doesn’t want to. If he wanted to, he would,” sighed a commenter on r/RoyaltyTea, who was baffled that King Charles couldn’t just say the single word everyone wanted him to say. “Let me tell you this, coming from a country that was once colonized by the monarchy/UK, we do not need their half-hearted apology,” growled another user. “They could absolutely apologize but they won’t,” agreed a third.
“Why can’t the King say sorry?” questioned a fourth. To this question, one person gave an answer: “It’s a pandora’s box situation. The fear is that if they acknowledge the role of their family, it would by default be an acknowledgment that they (including the current RF) profited financially. And therein lies the problem.” While this opinion is subjective, plenty of people feel the same.
