King Charles allows probe into crown’s ties to slavery: Buckingham Palace
nypost.comthe Guardian reported on Thursday.De Koning’s study, which began in October, is co-sponsored by Historic Royal Palaces, an independent nonprofit that manages several monarchy-owned sites in London and Northern Ireland.
Her research is due to wrap up in fall 2026.In a statement obtained by The Post, a spokesperson for Buckingham Palace said that the king takes this work “profoundly seriously,” repeating his message to Commonwealth leaders 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.”“That process has continued with vigor and determination since His Majesty’s accession,” the palace rep continued, adding that researchers would be granted access to the royal collections and archives. “Given the complexities of the issues it is important to explore them as thoroughly as possible.”Meanwhile, the Guardian also just unveiled a previously buried document that evidently confirms King William III’s engagement in the slave-trading Royal African Company, showing a transfer of company shares, worth 1,000 British pounds in 1689 money, from Edward Colston, the company’s deputy governor, to the king.The royal family has traditionally been reluctant to address its association with the slave trade of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Nevertheless, historians have long reiterated that British monarchs indeed bolstered or benefited from the trafficking of millions of people from Africa to the Caribbean and North America.“This document offers clear evidence of the British monarchy’s central involvement in the expansion of the slave trade, and the huge importance of crown support for the enslaving voyages to Africa,”.
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