King Charles has since 2022 expressed sorrow for the suffering caused by slavery without corssing a line that Britain has long resisted: an apology.

That balancing act is likely to be tested at next week's Commonwealth summit in Antigua and Barbuda, where Caribbean leaders who back a reparations campaign through the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) are expected to press their case.

Buckingham Palace has indicated Charles would not apologise on behalf of Britain, which has repeatedly ruled out financial reparationes over its role in the transatlantic slave trade.

Speaking in the Bahamas on Tuesday (October 27) ahead of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that begins on Sunday (November 1), Charles said it was "only right that we should acknowledge the great suffering and injsutices of the past", and said leaders from affected countries would discuss the issue ath the summit.

But Niambi Hall Campbell-Dean, chair of the Bahamas' National Reparations Committee, said that did not gor far enough. "We do not need more carefully crafted words about healing", she said in a statement. "We need action equal with the scale of the harm inflicted."

From the 15th to the 19th century, at least 12.5 million Africans were abducted and sold into slavery and empire, said opponents of the reparations movement had "succesfully waponised" the idea that reparations simply meant writing acheck, an idea that few Western governments will countenance.

Instead, Caribbean leaders often fram their demands in terms of debt relief, development finance, education, healthcare and climate resilience, measures they say would address inequalities rooted in salvery and colonialism.

Buckingham Palace said in 2023 that Charles had given his support to research that was examining the monarchy's links to slavery after the Guardian newspaper reported on a document showing a historical connection.

In a more recent finding, independent researcher Desiree Baptiste told Reuters her forthcoming book, "George IV, Empire and Objects of Prestige", would cite House of Lords and other British government records showing that profits derived from enslaved labour helped fund furniture and decorative work commissioned by George IV at royal residences.

Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the findings.

"I think King Charles III is in a difficult position because you can express sorrow about something, but an apology goes much further", royal commentator Afua Hagan said.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

King Charles' sorrow over slavery faces test as reparations movement gains ground

VIDEO SHOWS: ARCHIVE FOOTAGE OF KING CHARLES ATTENDING CHOGM SUMMIT IN 2024 / KING CHARLES ON 2026 CARIBBEAN TOUR / INTERVIEW WITH ROYAL COMMENTATOR, AFUA HAGAN AND UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX HISTORIAN, ALAN LESTER

SHOWS: NASSAU, BAHAMAS (OCTOBER 27, 2026) (ROYAL POOL - No use UK)

1. BRITAIN’S KING CHARLES GETTING OUT OF PLANE / WALKING DOWN STAIRS

2. KING CHARLES GREETING PRIME MINISTER OF THE BAHAMAS, PHILIP DAVIS AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF THE BAHAMAS DAME CYNTHIA PRATT

3. KING CHARLES WALKING DOWN RED CARPET

4. VARIOUS OF KING CHARLES STANDING ON PODIUM

UNKNOWN LOCATION, UNITED KINGDOM (OCTOBER 29, 2026) (REUTERS - Access All)

5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX HISTORIAN, ALAN LESTER, SAYING:

"But as well as being in this kind of ambiguous relationship with the British government, he's (King Charles) also the head of a monarchy which was deeply implicit in enslavement and he has that family heritage. His own personal family monopolized slave trading through the Royal African Company. They set up that company as a royal monopoly with the Royal Charter. And at various successive stages, the royal family has accrued substantial personal wealth through investments in the trafficking of people and in the plantation economy."

NASSAU, BAHAMAS (OCTOBER 27, 2026) (ROYAL POOL - No use UK)

6. VARIOUS OF KING CHARLES SPEAKING WITH YOUTH ATTENDEES

UNKNOWN LOCATION, UNITED KINGDOM (OCTOBER 29, 2026) (REUTERS - Access All)

7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX HISTORIAN, ALAN LESTER, SAYING:

"So we're not talking about a cash transfer, you know, we're talking about decades worth of slightly more favourable financial conditions being negotiated as a reparative mechanism. So that's the most likely way in which reparations will occur. An apology as well will be symbolically extremely important, accompanying those kinds of negotiations. It could be simply increasing development aid so that places like Jamaica can withstand natural disasters like the increasing frequency and scale of hurricanes that we're seeing with climate change, to enable hurricane-proof buildings, for instance, or at least certain infrastructural resilience against hurricane damage."

NASSAU, BAHAMAS (OCTOBER 27, 2026) (ROYAL POOL - No use UK)

8. KING CHARLES GREETING GUESTS

9. VARIOUS OF KING CHARLES TAKING HIS SEAT NEXT TO PRIME MINISTER OF THE BAHAMAS, PHILIP DAVIS

UNKNOWN LOCATION, UNITED KINGDOM (OCTOBER 29, 2026) (REUTERS - Access All)

10. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX HISTORIAN, ALAN LESTER, SAYING:

"So I can see that he's very conflicted. My impression is that individually he is aware and acknowledges that history. He has supported work in the Royal Archives that hasn't necessarily been supported by previous generations to find out more. But I think that he's kind of hedged in on all sides by his constitutional responsibilities."

NASSAU, BAHAMAS (OCTOBER 27, 2026) (ROYAL POOL - No use UK)

11. KING CHARLES WALKING UP TO LECTERN

12. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRITAIN'S KING CHARLES, SAYING:

"It is only right that we should acknowledge the great suffering and injustices of the past in these islands and beyond. Even as we rejoice in the successes of the present and build new opportunities for the future."

UNKNOWN LOCATION, UNITED KINGDOM (OCTOBER 29, 2026) (REUTERS - Access All)

13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX HISTORIAN, ALAN LESTER, SAYING:

"I think the pressure is now mounting such that British representatives will have to sit at a table with CARICOM representatives and start to talk about this and that is a major step forward. Up until this, heads of government meeting that's coming up now, there's just been a complete refusal to even begin discussions. At the last heads of government meeting, Keir Starmer managed to sort of put off discussions but rule out financial reparations, which is where we are now. But there will be discussions at this heads of government meeting and at some point, I think Britain will have to accede to actually talking about what it is CARICOM really wants."

INTERNET (OCTOBER 30, 2026) (CARICOM - Access All) (MUTE)

14. VARIOUS SCREEN SHOTS FROM CARICOM WEBSITE INCLUDING 'TEN-POINT ACTION PLAN'

LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (OCTOBER 29, 2026) (REUTERS - Access All)

15. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ROYAL COMMENTATOR, AFUA HAGAN, SAYING:

"The conversations around slavery, number one, and reparations being paid for slavery are happening at the same time. And I think when he goes to Antigua especially and sits down with the Prime Minister there, that really is going to be probably quite a difficult conversation for him. We know that Buckingham Palace has said that there will be no apology when it comes to the royal family's involvement in enslaving African people and their involvement in slavery and of course, the British government has said that they are not keen on paying reparations, that may change, we never know, because the reparations movement is gathering speed, gathering force, and becoming much louder and harder to ignore.

APIA, SAMOA (ARCHIVE - OCTOBER 25, 2024) (TV9 AND RADIO 2AP - Access all)

16. VARIOUS OF BRITAIN’S KING CHARLES AND QUEEN CAMILLA ARRIVING FOR OPENING CEREMONY FOR THE 2024 COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING (CHOGM)

LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (OCTOBER 29, 2026) (REUTERS - Access All)

17. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ROYAL COMMENTATOR, AFUA HAGAN, SAYING:

"I think King Charles III is in a difficult position because you can express sorrow about something, but an apology goes much further. You can acknowledge something, but when you acknowledge it, should you not apologise for it as well? I think he is in a difficult position, but let's also remember he's an excellent diplomat, he's our diplomat-in-chief, and he's very, very good at that. And I think, if anyone is going to come out of the wash in a difficult position, it is him. He is going to be able to have the conversations around why he feels he can't apologise and why he feels that it may open the door to reparations and be able to discuss that with leaders. But this is a real test of his monarchy and he is in a very difficult position."

GEORGETOWN, GUYANA (OCTOBER 29, 2026) (ROYAL POOL - No use UK)

18. KING CHARLES, GUYANA PRESIDENT MOHAMED IRFAAN ALI, AND BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY ED MILLIBAND POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPH

19. VARIOUS OF CHARLES AND ALI MEETING WITH GUESTS