A senior aide says Downing Street briefed the Palace on the Prime Minister’s Guardian article in advance, as the King expressed “sorrow” for historic slavery at the Commonwealth summit in Antigua without issuing an apology.
Buckingham Palace has denied being caught off guard by Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s suggestion that he is “open” to Britain formally apologising for its role in the transatlantic slave trade. Mr Burnham made the comments in an opinion piece in the Guardian at the weekend. GB News understands that Downing Street told the Palace about the article beforehand. A senior palace aide told the broadcaster the Palace was informed “in a timely manner” and that the Prime Minister was entitled to write it.
“Not for us to get in the way”
The aide told GB News that he had spoken to the Prime Minister himself and had been told the terms in which the article would be written. “He is the head of the elected government; he’s not the head of state, but he is the head of government,” the aide said. “Now, that’s how our democracy functions. If that’s what elected politicians want to do, it’s not for us to get in the way.”
The King was flying from Guyana to Antigua when the article was published. It is understood that no changes were made to his address to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) as a result.
Palace sources indicated that King Charles and Mr Burnham have built a good working relationship since the Prime Minister took office. The aide said the King “very quickly finds a way to establish a good working relationship with the sitting prime minister”, and that he sees them together every week. He said that with almost every prime minister there is something both care deeply about, and that Mr Burnham had spoken to him about the importance he attaches to opportunities for young people, which he has in common with the King.
Burnham hints at investment
Mr Burnham went further this week at CHOGM, hinting at more money being invested in former British colonies as he held talks with Caribbean leaders. Speaking to the media, the Prime Minister said: “It benefits Britain to be here listening to people building that new partnership and that’s good for growth in Britain.”
The King’s position on slavery
In his speech to Commonwealth leaders, the King expressed “sorrow” for historic slavery but stopped short of an official apology. GB News reports that a number of Caribbean leaders are thought to be disappointed by this. Royal sources said the decision rests with the government.
Research from the National Archives and other sources has found that individual monarchs received direct payments or revenue from slave-labour estates, and that other members of the Royal Family profited indirectly.
Asked whether the King might one day apologise on behalf of his ancestors, a senior aide told GB News: “The King is the crown, the crown is the state, the state is run by an elected government, so we have to see how this whole situation plays through.”
In 2023, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands formally apologised for his country’s historical role in slavery. The British constitution is understood to operate differently, meaning King Charles cannot take a side on an issue that has become party political. The Conservatives and Reform UK have both firmly rejected the idea of Britain apologising, while Labour is “open” to it.
Republic debate in the Caribbean
Several Caribbean realms, including Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, and the Bahamas, have expressed a desire to cut ties with the monarchy and become republics. Buckingham Palace is not expected to block any such move, suggesting it is for individual countries to decide.
“The King and the Royal Family are there to serve the people of these regions for as long as they wish,” a senior aide said. “But if they don’t wish it anymore, then we really are fully open to that. The family serves when it’s wanted and if not, then a new arrangement can be found.”
The aide pointed to Barbados, which in 2021 replaced the British monarch with a president. The then Prince Charles attended the handover ceremony. A senior aide said he had been “in very close touch” with the Barbadian prime minister as the change went ahead, and that they agreed it would be done “without rancour”. The aide said Barbados wanted to recommit itself to the Commonwealth, and that the Palace had “absolutely no difficulty” with the governor general’s title changing to president. He noted that 17 countries moved from being realms to republics during the late Queen’s reign. “So there is nothing unusual about it,” he said. “It’s really all a matter of what countries want to do.”
“A secret weapon”
Despite republican sentiment in parts of the Commonwealth, the government is thought to be increasingly using the King as a “secret weapon”, sending him into politically difficult situations where controversy could overshadow a visit. A senior aide told GB News: “We’re just in the fifth year of the reign. I think what we’re seeing is very clear pattern emerging of the government asking the king to head into quite politically charged situations, quite challenging situations.”
The aide described the Caribbean tour, which covered three countries over nine days, as “complex”, “challenging” and “exhausting”, but said it had been “very successful”. “I think the King has demonstrated his statecraft both by word and deed,” he said, adding that the King is “able to reach the parts that dare I say politicians probably couldn’t quite have reached”.
Heat, rain and a Junkanoo parade
The King faced intense heat, a torrential downpour and more than 30 engagements in nine days. At a cricket stadium in Antigua he was drenched after a close protection officer failed to get an umbrella to him in time, and he appeared frustrated. The aide said the situation was “very quickly resolved” and that the King was laughing. He said the Queen, who had been sitting under cover, laughed when she returned and said she did not think she had “ever been so wet in my life”. The King joked to the Antiguan prime minister that he could now grow watercress on his trousers.
The King, who turns 78 next Saturday and is continuing cancer treatment, spontaneously joined a traditional Junkanoo carnival in the Bahamas, dancing down the street with performers. The aide said the best response to concerns about his health was “a picture of a man about to turn 78 wangling the cowbells as he jives down the street in nearly 40-degree heat”.
“This is literally what he was born to do, he’s very good at it, and he enjoys the reaction he gets from people in the doing of it,” the aide added.
