Buckingham Palace said the royal family would support an independent research project looking into whether British royals were involved in slavery during the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries by allowing access to the Royal Collection and the Royal Archives.
Britain’s King Charles III announced his support for research into the monarchy’s historical links to slavery, Buckingham Palace said on Thursday.
Academics will be granted access to royal archives
A month ahead of his coronation, the palace said that academics would be given greater access to royal archives, and that Charles takes the issue “profoundly seriously”.
Buckingham Palace said the royal family would support an independent research project looking into any links between the monarchy and slavery during the late seventeenth and eighteenth-centuries, by allowing access to the Royal Collection and the Royal Archives.
“Given the complexities of the issues it is important to explore them as thoroughly as possible,” the Palace statement said. “It is expected that the research will conclude in September 2026.”
Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury and chair of the Church Commissioners, and the Church of England apologized for the slave trade in the past and set up a £100 million fund.
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Virginia tried to end slavery, but the crown prohibited that action. At the time, the King actually ruled.