King Charles has spoken for the first time that he supports a closer look into the British monarchy's historical links to transatlantic slavery, following the emergence of a document talking about the monarchy's stake in a slave trading company.
A document has been discovered that talks about the long history of British monarchs' participation in slavery and their contribution to investment in the enslavement of African peoples has been discovered for at least 270 years.
Proof document
The Guardian has previously published a previously undisclosed document showing the transfer of a thousand pounds of shares of the Royal African Slave Trade Company to King William III by Edward Colston, the company's deputy director and a symbol of the slave trade.
Virgin Commonwealth University historian Dr Brooke Newman found the important document during a research trip to London in January.
Brooke is preparing to publish a book, The Queen's Silence, about the British monarchy's involvement in the slave trade.
The paper proves the monarchy's involvement in benefiting from the slavery system, the newspaper said, adding that there are no doubt that there are "centuries of investment in slavery and the slave trade, which have contributed significantly to building the status and wealth of the royal family today."
Royal Support
According to the Guardian, Buckingham Palace did not comment on the document, but announced its support for the completion of an in-depth research project supported by the Historic Royal Palaces Authority on the palace's association with the slave trade. King Charles' statement has been welcomed by specialized historians, but with much caution.
A number of British activists threw a statue of Colston in the British port of Bristol in 2020 to protest his long history of the slave trade.
Charles has previously lamented the suffering caused by the slave trade, saying it has caused "horrific atrocities".