King's role is not policy making, says Palace in slavery apology row

The King and Queen are in Antigua for the Commonwealth gathering

The King’s role as head of the Commonwealth is about “inspiring and convening, rather than policy making”, says Buckingham Palace – distancing him from rows over whether the UK should apologise and make reparations for its part in the Atlantic slave trade.

The Palace statement clarifying the King’s non-political role in the Commonwealth comes as the organisation’s leaders gather for a summit in Antigua and Barbuda.

The King is to deliver a speech on Tuesday which is expected to recognise the painful legacy of slavery. But his speech will have to reflect the position of the UK government.

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has suggested there could be some form of apology over slavery, but has ruled out financial reparations.

The PM has said that the UK “must face up to the past” over the “brutal and barbaric violation” of the slave trade.

But Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch rejected “endless talk about apologies” as a “distraction” from solving current problems.

The British government has never formally apologised for slavery or offered to pay reparations.

Gaston Brown, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, the country which is hosting the Commonwealth gathering, says that the consequences of slavery “have not disappeared with the passage of time” and wants to discuss reparations.

Whatever emerges from the King’s speech will be a political decision, as the King has to speak on the advice of ministers.

On previous occasions, the King has used strong language, such as talking about his “greatest sorrow and regret” at the “abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence” of the colonial era on a visit to Kenya.

And in Antigua he is expected to voice his “sincere sorrow”, having spoken about the “great suffering of the past” in the Bahamas last week.

But any formal apology and any action on reparations on behalf of the UK would be a decision for political leaders – and the statement from the Palace defuses any expectation of such an intervention.

Instead the Palace sets out the King’s role as a unifying figure above such divisions, with the Commonwealth described as a “family” of nations.

The King’s “most significant contribution has been helping to connect leaders, institutions and investors – many of whom he knows personally from his many years of international diplomacy”, says the Palace.

And that relates to “shared areas of interest and concern, creating the conditions in which ambitious Commonwealth-led initiatives can emerge and succeed”.

It’s a view of a positive and collective approach of the King’s role in the Commonwealth, bringing together politicians with business leaders, philanthropists and civil society.

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