'Now is the time' for the King to apologise for the British monarchy's role in the slave trade, campaigners in the Caribbean say

'Now is the time' for King Charles to apologise for the British monarchy's role in the slave trade, with campaigners from Caribbean nations calling for reparations to be paid this year.  

The demands are being made by reparation campaigners as well as aristocratic families who have made public apologies for their family's historic ownership of the enslaved. 

Eric Phillips, who is vice chair for the Caricom Reparations Commission group that represents 20 Caribbean nations and states, said 'now is the time' for the King to 'not only apologise' but become 'the architect of change'.

He told Sky News:  'He is the single most important person in this process and I think now is the time, considering all that is happening globally in terms of justice, with Black Lives Matter, human rights, it's an appropriate thing for him to do and the right thing for him to do.'

It comes as the King steps back from his public duties to undergo cancer treatment. Despite his illness, the monarch is still meeting weekly for his private audience with the Prime Minister and reading his red box daily.

'Now is the time' for King Charles to apologise for the role Britain's monarchy played in the slave trade campaigners and Caribbean nations have said. Pictured: King Charles and Queen Camilla on the Sandringham estate last month

Eric Phillips, vice chair for the Caricom Reparations Commission group that represents 20 Caribbean nations and states, told Sky that 'now is the time' for the King to 'not only apologise' but become 'the architect of change

King Charles and Queen Camilla pictured on the Caribbean island of Grenada in 2019 

Continuing his campaign Mr Phillips said: 'The King has an opportunity to not only apologise, but to have time to create the architecture of change and the architecture of negotiation that could move things forward.'

'We have so many examples, you look at the lack of technology, you look at under-development, you look at poverty,' he added. Racism was the second nuclear bomb, but slavery was the first.' 

Laura Trevelyan, a BBC journalist turned reparations campaigner also called on the King to speak up. She said: 'I would hope that the King would do something to make up for the fact his ancestors sanctioned slave trade in people at the very beginning.

'Because he's King of England - one of the largest monarchies in the entire world - anything he does will be hugely significant.' 

Last year Ms Trevelyan, along with her cousin John Dower, apologised to the Caribbean island of Grenada for their family's historic role in the slave trade. 

The family, who owned 1,000 slaves in the 19th century, said it would donate £100,000 to help community projects in Ghana and make up for their slave holdings.

Trade minister Greg Hands was asked on the programme today if King Charles should apologise but he said it was a matter 'for each person' and it was a 'better thing' to look to the future.

One of the Royal Family's most often cited links to slavery was the Royal African Company, which enslaved and transported hundreds of thousands from Africa to the Americas. 

 Laura Trevelyan (pictured) donated money and apologised to the people of Grenada for her family's role in the historic slave trade

Greg Hands was asked on the programme today if King Charles should apologise but he said it was a matter 'for each person'

The Caribbean island, which is ruled by anti-royalist Prime Minister Andrew Holness, is said to be seeking funding from the U K Government. Pictured: The King with PM Holness 

The renewed call follows reports last month that Jamaica is thought to be mulling over plans to demand £500,000 in payments from Britain in reparations to fund its 'dark tourism' heritage sector. 

The Caribbean island, which is ruled by anti-royalist Prime Minister Andrew Holness, is said to be seeking funding from the UK Government and major museums to fund exhibitions about colonialism.

The payments would go to conserving ports, hospitals and courthouses which are linked to imperialism on the island which was under British rule until it became independent in 1962. 

In September it was revealed that Caribbean nations were trying to negotiate inter-governmental agreements with several nations wanting to put their cases directly to the descendants of those who benefited - including Charles.

Arley Gill, chairman of the Grenada National Reparations Committee said at the time:' We are hoping that King Charles will revisit the issue of reparations and make a more profound statement, beginning with an apology, and that he would make resources from the Royal Family available for reparative justice.

'He should make some money available. We are not saying that he should starve himself and his family, and we are not asking for trinkets. But we believe we can sit around a table and discuss what can be made available for reparative justice.' 

The King has stepped back from his public duties to undergo cancer treatment. Despite his illness, the monarch is still meeting weekly for his private audience with the Prime Minister and reading his red box daily. Pictured: Charles arriving in Westminster today

The Reparations Commission for St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) was set to start issuing demands for reparations by the end of last year but this did not happen. 

Pressure for the King to apologise was heightened after the Dutch king, Willem-Alexander, has apologised for the Netherlands' involvement in slavery, saying he 'felt the weight of the words in my heart and my soul'.

It came after a study commissioned by the country's government found that the Dutch royal house earned the equivalent of more than £800million from the trade and conquest of subjugated regions. 

Royal experts said the British monarchy would be put under 'more pressure' to apologise if other European royal families also start to say sorry.

Richard Fitzwilliams told MailOnline at the time that the Dutch King's expected apology will 'influence the way that others respond in European monarchies where there are former empires involved.'

Former Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker, a prominent critic of the royal family's finances, said he believes the Dutch decision will increase the pressure on Charles, adding that he 'probably will' apologise. 

And royal commentator Phil Dampier said that at King Willem-Alexander's decision does 'open up the fear' that Charles may do the same.

He added: 'I don't think the king would come out with another statement until he had consulted the PM. It is a very delicate matter. It's one thing to apologise, its another thing to start handing out reparations, because where do you stop?

Prince William also spoke out on the matter while visiting Jamaica in 2022. Pictured: The Prince and Princess of Wales at a dinner in Kingston 

Prince William previously said: 'I want to express my profound sorrow. Slavery was abhorrent. And it should never have happened.' Pictured: The Prince and Princess of Wales following the King's coronation in May 

'You set a precedent if you start doing that. He might think about it and the more monarchies that do it would put him under more pressure but you have to draw the line on reparations.'

Last year the King signalled his support for research into the monarchy's links with slavery for the first time after an American historian unearthed a document revealing one of the monarch's predecessors had shares in a transatlantic slavery firm.

Buckingham Palace said last April that Charles took the issue of his family's links to slavery 'profoundly seriously' after a ledger revealed King William III was given shares in the Royal African Company.

The document, which dates from 1689 and was found in a royal archive by Virginia-based historian Dr Brooke Newman, shows a transfer of £1,000 of shares in the business to William of Orange from its governor, Edward Colston.

In 2023, the King also told Commonwealth leaders: '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.'

Prince William also spoke out on the matter while visiting Jamaica in 2022. He said while at a dinner in Kingston: 'I strongly agree with my father, The Prince of Wales, who said in Barbados last year that the appalling atrocity of slavery forever stains our history. 

'I want to express my profound sorrow. Slavery was abhorrent. And it should never have happened.'

Despite the words from the King and Prince of Wales tensions over the matter have continued to brew over the last few years. 

When William and Kate visited Jamaica they were both praised and criticised for speaking out against Britain's historic role in the slave trade.