King Charles asked to formally apologise for UK’s colonial past ahead of the coronation ceremony  

As the United Kingdom gears up for a grand coronation ceremony of King Charles, the calls for a formal apology from his end for the country’s dark colonial history are becoming louder and louder. Several communities and advocacy groups from across twelve countries are demanding the soon-to-be king to give a formal apology for Britain’s colonial past during the ceremony, as per Republic. In a joint statement, these groups called Britain’s colonial history a “legacy of genocide.”  

Before Charles’ mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was crowned, Britain had colonised India for nearly two hundred years before dividing India in 1947 in the wake of its independence. Along with India, the U.K. has colonised several other nations, including Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Barbados, Egypt, Ghana, Jamaica, Libya, and Israel, among others. While the United Kingdom has expressed its regret towards its colonial past, it has never formally apologised for it. The Guardian also found evidence of a transfer of £1,000 of shares made by slave-trading Royal African Company to King William III. The demand for reparations have been increasing from all former British colonies over the past few decades. However, there is no news yet on whether King Charles will make a statement on this matter during his coronation, which will take place on May 6.