(DailyVantage.com) – King Charles III has backed and expressed support for a study into the Royal Family’s historical links to slavery and will give researchers access to the Royal Archives for the project.
According to reports, Buckingham Palace will permit historian Camilla de Koning and University of Manchester researchers access to the Royal Archives and the Royal Collection for the study, which is set to be titled ‘Crown Engagement in Britain’s Emerging Empire 1660–1775.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Royal Family said King Charles took such issues “profoundly seriously” and believed it was vital to “explore them as thoroughly as possible.” The spokesperson went on to quote the king’s 2022 speech in Rwanda, where he expressed his “personal sorrow at the suffering” of those victimized by the slave trade and vowed to “deepen” his understanding of the slave trade’s “enduring impact.”
Buckingham Palace confirmed that the charity Historic Royal Palaces was also working on research into the Royal Family’s links to the slave trade in the 17th and 18th centuries.
On April 6, the Guardian newspaper published an article detailing the links between the Royal Family and the slave trade in the 17th century. According to the report, William IIIuba Dutch-born royal who went on to become the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland ihad received £1,000 worth of shares in the Royal African Company in 1689 from slave trader Edward Colston. In June 2020, a statue of Colston was pulled down and destroyed by Black Lives Matter protesters in Bristol.
During a speech in Jamaica in 2022, Prince William, heir to the throne, also expressed “sorrow” over the historical slave trade, which he said “forever stains” the history of the UK.
The coronation of King Charles III is scheduled to take place in Westminster Abbey on May 6, nearly eight months after the death of Queen Elizabeth II and Charles’ accession to the throne.
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