King Charles has issued a warning about ‘conflicts stalking our world’ as he addressed Commonwealth leaders this afternoon.
The Monarch said ‘brutal conflicts’ were ‘destroying lives and casting long shadows across the globe’ as he described a ‘desperately troubled world’.
Charles also spoke about the ‘horror’ of slavery while avoiding a direct apology for the slave trade.
He told leaders: ‘That shameful chapter of history is one that fills my heart with horror and my soul with the most profound personal sorrow.’
Charles was addressing the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting’s opening ceremony in Antigua and Barbuda after days of pressure over the UK’s past engagement in slavery.
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Prime Minister Andy Burnham had offered of talks on a slavery apology but not financial reparations in the lead up to the conference.
During his address, the King said: ‘ ‘The transatlantic trade in enslaved persons still casts a shadow over these islands and other members of our Commonwealth.’
Charles also talked about the Royal Navy’s ‘leading role’ in ending the slave trade and said ‘we cannot change the actions of those who came before us.’
The King, who is the Head of the Commonwealth, said he was committed to ‘finding ways for us to work in modern partnership to address the wrongs of the past with action for the future.’
Charles also used his address to warn about a ‘desperately troubled world’.
He told leaders: ‘All around us, trust between nations is under critical strain, as international norms and systems are tested to their limits.
‘Brutal conflict stalks our world, destroying lives and casting long shadows across the globe. Technology is transforming our societies and our economies at dizzying speed, with little certainty about where it might lead us.’
The King also addressed the ‘catastrophic reality’ of climate change and said ‘Each of these is a challenge of the highest order. Together, they comprise the crisis of our time.’
The UK has faced growing calls in the lead-up to the Commonwealth Summit to apologise and pay reperations for slavery.
Antigua and Barbuda’s prime minister Gaston Browne said the consequences of slavery ‘have not disappeared with the passage of time’.
Although Burnham has ruled out paying reparations, he did approve £40bn work of aid funding for the Caribbean to speed up critical infrastructure investment.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has spoken out against issuing an apology for slavery or paying compensation for the slave trade.
She said: ‘I don’t think we should be giving any money to compensate people for the slave trade, and I don’t think that Andy Burnham needs to be apologising because it is a lever to wedge open the door to ask for cash.’
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