King Charles Supports Study into British Royal Family's Links to Slavery, Marking a Historic First

It's thought to be the first time Buckingham Palace is cooperating with an investigation into the royal family's colonial past

King Charles is opening the archives for an investigation into the British royal family's ties to the transatlantic slave trade.

On Wednesday, The Guardian reported that Buckingham Palace is aiding a Ph.D. research project co-sponsored by Historic Royal Palaces examining the historical ties that bind the monarchy and slavery.

While the palace did not comment on a newly discovered document showing that King William III received over $1,200 in shares in the slave-trading Royal African Company from Edward Colston in 1689, a spokesperson said that related research is supported by King Charles.

"This is an issue that His Majesty takes profoundly seriously. As His Majesty told the Commonwealth heads of government reception in Rwanda last year: 'I cannot describe the depths of my personal sorrow at the suffering of so many, as I continue to deepen my own understanding of slavery's enduring impact,' " a palace spokesperson told The Guardian.

"That process has continued with vigour and determination since His Majesty's accession. Historic Royal Palaces is a partner in an independent research project, which began in October last year, that is exploring, among other issues, the links between the British monarchy and the transatlantic slave trade during the late 17th and 18th centuries," they continued. "As part of that drive, the royal household is supporting this research through access to the royal collection and the royal archives."

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The illuminating statement is thought to be the first time Buckingham Palace has publicly voiced support for, and cooperation with, an investigation into the royal family's history with colonialism.

The paper reports the research is from historian Camilla de Koning at the University of Manchester, examining "the monarchy's involvement in the slave trade and engagement with the empire," with a goal of completion by 2026. Historic Royal Palaces, the co-sponsor, is an independent charity that manages and maintains some unoccupied royal properties for the crown.

Dr. Edmond Smith, who is supervising the project, told the BBC that the British monarchy has "often been left out of discussions" on the transatlantic slave trade, describing the missing history as an "important hole that needed to be filled through the research."

"How the royal household may take that research on board is something we can only hope to see develop in the coming years," Smith said.

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King Charles, 74, and Prince William both addressed the atrocities of slavery and Britain's role in it during speeches abroad last year. The King spoke about the subject in his opening speech at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Rwanda (the first British royal visit) in June 2022, expressing his "personal sorrow" and urging the importance of finding "new ways to acknowledge our past."

He also reiterated the royal family's longstanding position that the onus is on Commonwealth countries to make the move towards becoming a republic, if they so wish, and drop the British monarch (then Queen Elizabeth) as head of state.

Prince William, 40, denounced slavery during his tour of the Caribbean with his wife, Kate Middleton — which was met with protests about colonialism — last year.

"I want to express my profound sorrow. Slavery was abhorrent. And it should never have happened," he said at a diplomatic dinner hosted by the Governor General of Jamaica in March 2022, acknowledging his country's role in the trafficking of people to the Caribbean and the United States.

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In conversation with The Guardian, the historian who discovered the King William III Royal African Company document said that while King Charles' support of the new research is promising, its scope "does not go anywhere near far enough."

"This is an interesting development, and the expression of support may sound progressive, but a full investigation into the monarchy's extensive, centuries-long involvement in the transatlantic slave trade and slavery, and the wealth successive monarchs accumulated from it, would need a team of researchers and forensic accountants, fully resourced," Dr. Brooke Newman of Virginia Commonwealth University said.

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