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King Charles will not shy away from Britain\u2019s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade when he tours the Caribbean later this month, but will \u200bnot formally apologise for \u201cthe darkest days of our past\u201d, Buckingham Palace said on Friday.<\/strong><\/p>\n Charles and his \u200cwife Queen Camilla will visit the Bahamas and Guyana, before heading to Antigua and Barbuda where he will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) which is being held from November 1-4 this year.<\/p>\n The trip comes amid growing clamour from Caribbean and \u200bAfrican nations for Britain and other colonial powers to pay reparations for their involvement in slavery, \u200bwith the issue likely to be prominent at CHOGM.<\/p>\n The British government has ruled out paying \u2060any reparations though Charles, who remains the head of state of a number of Caribbean nations including both \u200bthe Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda, has previously expressed his sorrow about slavery.<\/p>\n As such, both reparations and apologies \u200bwere a matter for the government, a palace spokesperson said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are important discussions taking place in various fora about colonial legacy and the intergenerational impact of the transatlantic trade in enslaved persons,\u201d the Buckingham Palace spokesperson said, adding the visit was coming at \u200ban important time in the relationship between Britain and Caribbean nations.<\/p>\n \u201cThe visit programme will therefore not shy away from \u2018the \u200bdarkest days of our past\u2019, as his majesty has described them, but \u2013 in keeping with the wishes of our host nations \u2013 \u200cit \u2060will principally be oriented to the vibrant present and promising future of each country.\u201d<\/p>\n From the 15th to the 19th century, at least 12.5 million Africans were abducted and sold into slavery by European merchants, with Britain responsible for transporting an estimated 3.2 million people, making it the second most active European nation after Portugal.<\/p>\n King Charles, who is \u200bhead of the Commonwealth group \u200bof 56 nations \u2013 mainly \u2060former British colonies \u2013 encompassing some 2.7 billion people, has backed research into the British monarchy\u2019s own historical links to the trade.<\/p>\n Last month, the Jamaican government also formally asked him \u200bto seek legal advice on whether Britain should pay reparations and said it was \u201cencouraged\u201d \u200bby the engagement \u2060of Buckingham Palace.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is important to note here the work his majesty himself has done over many years both to acknowledge the wrongs of the past and to find creative ways to right inequalities that endure,\u201d the palace \u2060spokesperson said.<\/p>\n \u201cAs \u200byou would therefore expect, opportunities will be found during the visit \u200bto reflect and renew his personal, wholehearted, and continuing commitment to that process.\u201d<\/p>\n In February, Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Botchwey told Reuters she expected its members \u200bto make progress towards beginning negotiations on reparations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n