“Not mine”: a protest against Charles III. a month before the coronation

A month before the coronation of King Charles III. Anti-monarchists in the UK raise their voices. “Not mine” read banners at a demonstration outside York Minster on Thursday.

Criticism of the crown is nothing new, fueled by a recent Guardian report on the British monarchy’s links to the slave trade.

involvement in the slave trade

The Guardian published a document in 1689 showing the transfer of shares in the Royal African Company, which was active in the slave trade, to King William III. prove. The paper was signed by Edward Colston, then Lieutenant-Governor of the Society. In Bristol, western England, a statue of Colston, who was seen as a philanthropist, was thrown into the harbor basin during Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.

“This is an issue that His Majesty the King takes very seriously,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement in response to the release of the document.

He has pledged his full support for a scientific study to investigate involvement in the slave trade by 2026. It will provide access to the royal archives and royal collection.

Historic Royal Palaces, which manages some of the UK’s royal palaces, is a partner in the independent research project, which is led by a historian from the University of Manchester.

failed in the Caribbean

For a few years now, criticism has been leveled in the United Kingdom, but also in its former colonies, about the country’s imperial, slave-holding and colonial past and the monarchy’s involvement in it.

Last year, Prince William and his wife Kate’s trip to the Caribbean ended in a fiasco because critics called the resulting photos “imperial-looking.” William was asked to apologize for the UK’s “slave-owning” past.

The royal family is also facing accusations of racism, which have been exacerbated by the accusations of Prince Harry and his wife, Megan, who is of African American descent.

Since his accession to King Charles III. A turning point in the way the royal family publicly deals with this part of history.

In November he said the UK’s role in the slave trade should not be hidden.

Research shows that the British monarchy benefited from the slave trade for centuries. Charles and Camilla, who handed out special coins at the traditional Royal Maundy service to kick off the Easter festivities, will be crowned in London in exactly one month – May 6.