https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/royals/king-charles-supports-study-royals-29645291?utm_source=mirror_newsletter&utm_campaign=royal_family_newsletter2&utm_medium=email&pure360.trackingid=1d98e5a4-56c1-4dc0-99ba-a0c256dd40d1Dark history of William and Kate's home - as King promises to help investigation
The Royal Family has, for the first time, welcomed research into the historical links between the British monarchy and the transatlantic slave trade
By Rachel Hagan World News Reporter
13:02, 6 Apr 2023 Updated 13:26, 6 Apr 2023
It has been revealed that Prince William's home has links to a slave-transport company and his ancestors were directly involved in the trade. The Royal Family has, for the first time, welcomed research into the historical links between the British monarchy and the transatlantic slave trade as the findings came to light. Kensington Palace was the residence of William III and the Guardian has revealed he transferred £1,000 (£155,000 today) of shares in the slave-trading Royal African Company to King William III, from Edward Colston, the slave trader and the company's deputy governor. A PhD project of historian Camilla de Koning at Manchester University, co-sponsored by Historic Royal Palaces, will investigate the monarchy's involvement in the slave trade and engagement with the empire. King Charles takes the issues "profoundly seriously" and the royal household will help with the academic project by offering access to the Royal Collection and the Royal Archives, Buckingham Palace has said. The Guardian reports that an imposing bronze statue of William III, Prince William's namesake, stands at the palace as it was he who built the building. Prince William grew up there with his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales and today, it is his official London residence with his wife. David Conn writes: "At Kensington Palace, in the stories of kings and queens told on the information boards on the public tour, and outside on the William III statue, there is not a word about their links to slavery."
A spokesperson for the King said he had continued his pledge to deepen his understanding of slavery's impact with "vigour and determination" since his accession. He said he was on a personal journey of discovery and was continuing to "deepen my own understanding of slavery's enduring impact" and added that the roots of the Commonwealth "run deep into the most painful period of our history".
But there was no apology from the then-heir to the throne for the royal family's involvement in the transportation and selling of people for profit. A document found in the archives by the historian Dr Brooke Newman highlights the Royal Family's involvement in the horrific trade. Four lines of elaborately ink-written scrawl state that shares were given to William III in 1689. The shares were in the Royal African Company (RAC), which captured, enslaved and transported thousands of African people, with the monopoly power of a royal charter. The Slave Voyages database states that in the 60 years of its operations, the RAC transported 186,827 enslaved people, including almost 24,000 children, to the Americas. A few months after William was given the shares, the site for Kensington Palace was bought and William and Queen Mary commissioned the architect Sir Christopher Wren to build the lavish residence. The palace became home to Queen Anne who then expanded Britain’s involvement in the slave trade by securing the right to supply Spain’s colonies with enslaved people. The document clearly bears the handwritten name of the now notorious Edward Colston. During the 2020 Black Lives Matters Protests in Bristol, the statue of Mr Colston was toppled and tossed into the river. Three people were found not guilty over the act of public dissent. The judge urged jurors to “be on the right side of historyâ€, saying the statue, which stood over the city for 125 years, was so indecent and potentially abusive that it constituted a crime. A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said on Thursday: "This is an issue that His Majesty takes profoundly seriously. "As His Majesty told the Commonwealth Heads of Government Reception in Rwanda last year: 'I cannot describe the depths of my personal sorrow at the suffering of so many, as I continue to deepen my own understanding of slavery's enduring impact'."
The spokesperson added: "That process has continued with vigour and determination since His Majesty's accession. Historic Royal Palaces is a partner in an independent research project, which began in October last year, that is exploring, among other issues, the links between the British monarchy and the transatlantic slave trade during the late 17th and 18th centuries. As part of that drive the Royal Household is supporting this research through access to the Royal Collection and the Royal Archives. Given the complexities of the issues it is important to explore them as thoroughly as possible. It is expected that the research will conclude in September 2026."
Manchester University's website lists Ms de Koning's research as Royal Enterprise: Reconsidering the Crown's Engagement in Britain's Emerging Empire, 1660-1775. Her previous work includes research into Dutch involvement in the slave trade while at the University of Leiden. A spokesperson for HRP said: "Historic Royal Palaces is a co-sponsor, with Manchester University, of a Collaborative Doctoral Partnership, exploring how the royal family were involved with the structures that underpinned Britain's economic and imperial development in the 17th and 18th centuries. "The project will examine the royal role in empire and look at how the royal family, as individuals, understood their place within it."
The King is to be crowned amid grand celebrations at Westminster Abbey on May 6.
