What did King Charles say about the slave trade at the 2026 Commonwealth summit in Antigua?

Opening the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Antigua and Barbuda alongside Prime Minister Andy Burnham, King Charles expressed personal sorrow for the transatlantic slave trade and said it still casts a shadow over the Caribbean. Buckingham Palace stressed that policy, including any apology, is for the prime minister. BBC political editor Chris Mason said the government may formally apologise within about a year and wants to discuss debt relief.

• Caribbean leaders want Britain to pay financial reparations for its role in the slave trade.
• Mason said the previous summit in Samoa was messy for Britain because many members pushed to discuss reparations.
• Actor Idris Elba joined the King at a heritage site on the island.

▸In their words

“We cannot change the actions of those who came before us. We can, however, learn from the past.” King Charles · at 19:14 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Global News Podcast (2026-11-03). Read the whole episode summary →

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