King’s Caribbean tour will not shy away from ‘darkest days of our past’

The King has previously expressed his “personal sorrow” at the UK’s role in slavery.

A palace spokesperson said: “There are important discussions taking place in various fora about colonial legacy and the intergenerational impact of the transatlantic trade in enslaved persons.

“While these are primarily matters for Governments to address, His Majesty’s previous statements on them have been unequivocal, describing them as an ‘atrocity’ which ‘forever stains our history’.”

The palace said the tour will “principally be oriented to the vibrant present and promising future of each country”.

Several African and Caribbean countries have called for a formal apology and reparations from countries that benefited from the transatlantic slave trade.

In September, Jamaica’s government said it would raise a petition on the subject of slavery reparations with the King, the country’s head of state.

Olivia Grange, the country’s culture minister, said the petition would ask the King to refer three questions to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council over the legality of the enslavement of Africans in Jamaica.

Last month, a Downing Street spokesperson said the transatlantic slave trade was “abhorrent” but the UK position was that it does not pay reparations.