King Charles has waded into the row over calls for the UK to pay reparations for its involvement in the slave trade.
In a speech to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHoGM) in Samoa, the monarch said he understood how “the most painful aspects of our past continue to resonate”.
He said that “none of us can change the past” and called on the organisation to find “creative ways to right inequalities” from the past.
The King’s comments came as Commonwealth leaders prepare to defy Keir Starmer by including a reference to the reparations debate in the summit’s final communique, due to be published on Saturday.
Downing Street has insisted that the UK will not pay reparations for the part it played in the transatlantic slave trade, with some estimates putting the potential bill at £18 trillion.
The PM told the summit on Friday: “I understand the strength of feeling here and that there are some calls to face up to the harms and injustices of the past through reparatory justice.
“The UK believes the most effective way to maintain a spirit of respect and dignity is by working together to make sure the future is not in the shadow of the past, but is illuminated by it.”
But Frederick Mitchell, the foreign minister of the Bahamas, told Radio 4′s Today programme on Thursday: “It may take a while for people to come around, but come around they will.”
In his speech, King Charles said: “As we look around the world and consider its many deeply concerning challenges, let us choose within our Commonwealth family the language of community and respect, and reject the language of division.
“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.”
He added: “Together, we represent a third of humanity, with all the splendidly diverse complexity that this entails. And yet we know and understand each other, such that we can discuss the most challenging issues with openness and respect.
“At a time of heightened global tensions, of horrifying conflict and challenges of the greatest magnitude, it seems to me that these connections between us are more precious than ever. Together we are wiser, stronger and more able to respond to the demands of our time.
“That said, our cohesion requires that we acknowledge where we have come from. I understand, from listening to people across the Commonwealth, how the most painful aspects of our past continue to resonate.”
Starmer later told the King it had been “a great speech”.