King Charles III will not personally receive a petition from the Jamaican government seeking a legal opinion on the prospect of Britain paying rerations for slavery, contrary to initial reports, Buckingham Palace said. A delegation from Jamaica are due to meet officials in Britain on Monday and want the judicial committee of the Privy Council to review their request for reparations. Initial headlines had suggested the king would be given the petition but a Buckingham Palace spokesperson has now gone on the record to say this is not the case.
Newsweek understands the king is in Scotland. "The process for seeking a petition is to lodge it with the Judicial Committee so that referral under section four of the 1833 Act can be considered. We also understand the Jamaican representatives will be received by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office for bilateral discussions." He added: "His Majesty has on many occasions expressed his personal and wholehearted commitment to promoting greater understanding around the issue of slavery and finding ways to address historic wrongs for the benefit of communities today.
"As he stated in a landmark speech to Commonwealth Leaders: 'I understand, from listening to people across the Commonwealth, how the most painful aspects of our past continue to resonate…none of us can change the past. But we can commit, with all our hearts to learning its lessons and to finding creative ways to right inequalities that endure'." This is a developing story and will be updated.
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