King Charles Should Apologize for Slavery, Americans Believe

King Charles III should "offer a public apology for the monarchy's historic role in the slave trade," according to 35 percent of Americans surveyed on behalf of Newsweek.

Charles has condemned slavery on several occasions, expressing his "personal sorrow" for what he described as "slavery's enduring impact," in June 2022.

However, no working royal has ever apologized for the role of past British monarchs in the slave trade, despite requests from campaigners.

Prince William and Kate Middleton were confronted with protests calling for an apology and reparations during a Platinum Jubilee tour of Jamaica in March 2022. The Prince of Wales again expressed his "profound sorrow" but did not say "sorry."

Redfield & Wilton asked 1,500 U.S. adults on behalf of Newsweek whether the king should offer an apology. Just over a third (35 percent) said "yes;" 27 percent replied "no;" 17 percent answered "don't know;" and 22 percent said they did not care.

The results come days before the king and Queen Camilla are due to be crowned during a historic ceremony at Westminster Abbey, London, on May 6. Polling in the U.K. has showed that young Britons would favor abolishing the monarchy.

Britain's historic role in slavery was put under the microscope by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, released in December 2022.

Afua Hirsch, a columnist for U.K. newspaper The Guardian, told the show: "The first-ever commercial slave voyage conducted by Britain, was personally financed by Queen Elizabeth I. And it continued to be financed by kings and queens, right up until its abolition.

"When I was at school, the only aspect of the whole story of British slavery that I was ever told, was the abolition of slavery," Hirsch added. "In 1807, Britain abolished its slave trade and, in the 1830s, Britain abolished its slave empire."

The king told the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting [CHOGM] in Rwanda in June 2022: "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.

"If we are to forge a common future that benefits all our citizens, we too must find new ways to acknowledge our past. Quite simply, this is a conversation whose time has come."

Charles has also given his backing to research into the monarchy's links to slavery, though the move appeared to leave his sister, Princess Anne, somewhat bewildered.

She told Canadian public TV network CBC: "It's not really a subject of conversation that I would even go down. I have a historical perspective, which is slightly different, maybe more realistic.

"The historical perspective, it just goes back a lot further," Anne added. "The modern contexts are very different. Slavery hasn't gone away. No, common. Don't be too focused on timescales and periods. History isn't like that."

Newsweek's polling also asked whether King Charles' coronation mattered to Americans, and 48 percent of respondents said it did not matter at all.

Members of Generation Z, those born between 1997 and 2012, were more likely to view the historic ceremony as important, while boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, were less likely.

Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.