King is ‘ready to talk’ about UK and slavery
Monarch believes time is right to have conversations about country’s role in slave trade, says historian
‘In the same way we are taught about the Holocaust we should be open about the UK’S involvement in slavery’
THE King is “ready to have active conversations” about Britain’s involvement in the slave trade, his goddaughter has revealed.
Fiona Compton, a St Lucian artist and historian, said they had been speaking about the need for “openness” and ways in which the subject could be better highlighted and acknowledged.
Ms Compton’s disclosure comes after it emerged the King wants the transatlantic slave trade to be taught and understood as widely as the Holocaust.
In June, a royal source said he believed there was a fundamental gap in national awareness of the trade, despite Britain’s direct involvement.
The subject was addressed at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Rwanda, when the then Prince of Wales expressed his deep personal sorrow over the “painful history” of slavery, acknowledging that lessons must be learnt in order for the Commonwealth to move forward.
Ms Compton’s comments suggest that he will pursue the issue as King.
A palace aide said the issue of “building diversity and understanding” would always be important to the monarch.
Ms Compton, daughter of John Compton, a former St Lucia prime minister, yesterday showed the King her slave-themed artwork for The World Reimagined Globes project in Leeds, which explains Britain’s role in slavery.
Afterwards, she suggested that His Majesty had been thinking about how Britain “can make some real steps” towards repairing relations with those affected.
“He is ready to have active conversations about Britain’s relationship with the slave trade,” she said.
“Future plans about having honest and true discussions about how things can be repaired and how Britain can make some real steps.”
Ms Compton, 41, who grew up in St Lucia but now lives in London, said conversations were “ongoing” but that the King was “ready to have conversations and see what work can be done”.
She added: “He agrees this is British history, it should not be hidden.
“In the same way we are taught about the Holocaust we should be open about speaking about Britain’s involvement in the slave trade.”
In June, royal aides revealed that the then Prince of Wales had been in contact with a range of experts and world leaders on the subject, and that he hoped that a charitable organisation would take on the mantle in order to better educate and inform, as well as to create a mechanism for remembering such an integral part of British history.
One source said that he was “looking for opportunities” to highlight and celebrate diversity in both the UK and the Commonwealth.
He told Commonwealth leaders in Kigali that the roots of the 54-member association “run deep into the most painful period of our history”.
He also made it clear that if Commonwealth realms wanted to sever ties with the Royal family and become republics, such change could be made “calmly and without rancour”.
The then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were challenged over slavery reparations during their Caribbean tour, which was criticised for its colonial overtones.
Ms Compton, an ambassador for the Notting Hill Carnival in London, met the King at the start of a two-day tour of Yorkshire, where he arrived to huge cheers outside Leeds Central Library and Art Gallery, where he used his own pen to sign two visitors’ books.
Earlier, he visited the Bradford headquarters of Morrisons, the supermarket chain, and revealed his top tips for the perfect Sunday roast, which involves using the fat from the meat when cooking the potatoes.
Last November, Charles travelled to Barbados as it officially became a republic.
In a speech, he recognised the “appalling atrocity of slavery” that “forever stains our history”.
Prince William echoed his words in Jamaica in March, when he expressed “profound sorrow” over the evils of slavery, saying: “It should never have happened.”
Their words came at what is considered a pivotal time for the Commonwealth, with countries including Jamaica and Australia raising the possibility that they could follow Barbados in removing the Queen as their head of state.