When the King of the Belgians in the Congo expresses his regrets about the colonial era, he doesn't just do so as head of state.
His ancestor Leopold II took over the country as private property in the 19th century and had it plundered without restraint.
The proverbial Congo horror was one of the darkest eras of European colonial history, during which countless locals were killed and mistreated.
The magnificent and palatial Africa Museum, which Leopold financed with the profits from the rubber business, still stands in Tervuren, just outside Brussels.
Philippe did not explicitly apologize in Kinshasa, but described the colonial era for what it was: exploitation, domination, discrimination and racism.
You can't buy anything in Congo with that alone, but at least Belgium is now coming to terms with its bad legacy.
The politically complicated country, whose language communities can no longer get along well, is mostly preoccupied with itself.
As in other European nations, people forget that the colonial era wasn't that long ago.
In the case of Congo, it only ended in 1960. The devastation and injustice are still having an impact today.
This too must be taken into account if Europe now wants to become more involved in Africa for strategic reasons.