Few moments at the Antigua summit were watched as closely as the King’s opening address. Speaking at the National Performing Arts Centre in St John’s, in front of leaders from the Commonwealth’s 56 member countries, he chose to confront the history of slavery directly, in the region where its legacy is felt most strongly.

The speech came at the end of months of pressure. Caribbean governments, the CARICOM Reparations Commission and campaigners across the region had called for reparatory justice to be at the centre of the summit. Host Prime Minister Gaston Browne had called for a Commonwealth framework on the issue. The King’s words were always going to be read as a signal of how far Britain was prepared to go.

What did King Charles say?

The King described the transatlantic slave trade as something that filled him with “horror” and “the most profound personal sorrow”. He said it “still casts a shadow over these islands and other members of our Commonwealth”. He also noted that the Royal Navy had played “a leading role” in ending the trade after its abolition.

On the question of what should follow, he said: “We cannot change the actions of those who came before us. We can, however, learn from the past.” He then turned to the future, pointing to better education, investment in jobs, more trade between Commonwealth members and stronger climate resilience as the ways the Commonwealth could build shared prosperity.

How does this compare with what he has said before?

The King has spoken about slavery on several occasions. At CHOGM in Kigali in 2022, he spoke of his personal sorrow at the suffering it caused. At the 2024 summit in Samoa, he acknowledged that “none of us can change the past” while saying the Commonwealth could commit to learning its lessons. The Antigua speech used some of his strongest language yet, but it followed the same line: acknowledgement and regret, without an apology.

Why was there no apology?

Buckingham Palace made clear before the Caribbean tour, which also included visits to the Bahamas and Guyana, that no formal apology would be issued. As a constitutional monarch, the King speaks on matters of this kind in line with the advice of the UK government.

The government’s position shifted in the days before the summit. UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the UK was open to a formal apology but ruled out financial reparations. Writing in The Guardian, he said he wanted to “express my sorrow and regret for the pain and suffering of so many millions of people”. He also proposed that the UK lead a debt restructuring programme for the Commonwealth’s poorest countries, a move many saw as an attempt to offer something practical without accepting the principle of compensation.

How did Caribbean leaders respond?

Responses were measured but clear. Guyana’s President Mohamed Irfaan Ali said an apology should be the King’s next step. Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne, chairing the summit, said no nation should have to sacrifice its future just to survive the present, a reference to the debt and climate pressures facing small Caribbean economies.

Outside the venue, protesters carried signs reading “Acknowledge the wrong. Commit to repair.” An Antiguan resident quoted by Al Jazeera said that while people are free in law, many do not yet feel free, and that an apology is where repair begins.

What did the summit agree in the end?

By the time the summit closed on 4 November, leaders had welcomed the UK’s agreement to enter talks with affected parties on the slave trade and its consequences. The communiqué describes the dialogue as “structured, time-bound, inclusive and good-faith”. It does not set up any compensation mechanism or commit to payments, and no timetable for the talks has yet been published.

That outcome reflects the balance of the week. The King’s words acknowledged the scale of the harm. The UK government signalled it might apologise but would not pay. Caribbean and African leaders secured a formal process, which they had not had before, even if its scope is still open.

What happens next?

Attention now moves from the King’s words to the government’s actions. The key questions are whether the UK follows through on a formal apology, how the promised dialogue is organised and who takes part, and whether the proposed debt restructuring for the poorest members becomes part of the wider settlement. For many in the Caribbean, the speech in St John’s was a step forward in tone. Whether it becomes a step forward in substance will depend on the talks that follow.

After the anti-apartheid struggle of the 1970s and 1980s, the Commonwealth faced a new question: what does it stand for when the Cold War is over and almost every member is independent? The answer, developed over 26 years under three very different leaders, was values — democracy, the rule of law and human rights — backed for the first time by consequences.

What did Emeka Anyaoku achieve?

Chief Emeka Anyaoku, a Nigerian diplomat who had spent most of his career inside the Secretariat, became the first African Secretary-General in 1990. His decade was defined by three things:

• The Harare Declaration (1991), which committed members to democracy, the rule of law, human rights and good governance.
• South Africa’s return. Anyaoku worked closely with all sides during the transition from apartheid, and in 1994 Nelson Mandela’s South Africa rejoined the Commonwealth it had left in 1961.
• The Millbrook Programme (1995), which created the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group to deal with members that seriously violated those values. Its first major test was Anyaoku’s own country: Nigeria was suspended in 1995 after the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other activists, and readmitted in 1999 after the return to civilian rule.

His tenure also saw Mozambique join in 1995 — the first member with no historical constitutional link to Britain, opening the door to a wider Commonwealth.

How did Don McKinnon handle Zimbabwe?

Don McKinnon, a former New Zealand deputy prime minister and foreign minister, took over in 2000. His defining challenge was Zimbabwe. After disputed elections and political violence, Zimbabwe was suspended in 2002. When leaders decided at the 2003 CHOGM in Abuja to maintain the suspension, President Robert Mugabe withdrew Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth altogether.

The episode split opinion, with some African members sympathetic to Harare. A bid backed by Zimbabwe to replace McKinnon at the 2003 summit failed — he was re-elected by 40 votes to 11. McKinnon also dealt with repeated crises in Fiji and pushed for stronger Commonwealth election observation.

What is Kamalesh Sharma’s legacy?

Kamalesh Sharma, a senior Indian diplomat and former High Commissioner to the UK, served from 2008 to 2016. His tenure brought:

• The Commonwealth Charter (2013) — for the first time, a single document setting out the Commonwealth’s core values, from democracy and human rights to sustainable development and gender equality.
• Rwanda’s accession in 2009, the second member with no colonial link to Britain.
• Fiji’s full suspension in 2009 following its military government’s refusal to hold elections, and its restoration in 2014 after polls.
• A 2011 Eminent Persons Group report urging reform to keep the Commonwealth relevant.

Sharma also faced criticism. Rights groups and some member governments argued that the Secretariat was too cautious in speaking out, particularly around the 2013 CHOGM in Sri Lanka, which several leaders chose not to attend over human rights concerns. The Gambia left the Commonwealth in 2013, calling it a “neo-colonial institution” — though it rejoined in 2018.

What happened to them after the Secretariat?

All three remained active in public life. Chief Emeka Anyaoku returned to Nigeria and became one of the country’s most respected elder statesmen, frequently speaking on national unity and governance. Don McKinnon went back to New Zealand and recorded his years at the Secretariat in a memoir, In the Ring: A Commonwealth Memoir. Kamalesh Sharma combined diplomacy with academic leadership, serving as Chancellor of Queen’s University Belfast.

How did the Commonwealth change between 1990 and 2016?

Taken together, these years turned the Commonwealth from an association bound mainly by history into one with written values, a mechanism for upholding them, and a growing membership that included countries with no colonial link to Britain.

Trade is usually discussed in terms of tariffs, quotas and treaties. But anyone who has helped a business enter a new market knows the decisive factor is often simpler: who do you know, and do they trust you? That is where diaspora communities make the difference.

How big are the UK’s Commonwealth diaspora communities?

According to the 2021 Census for England and Wales, people of Indian heritage numbered around 1.86 million (3.1% of the population), Bangladeshi around 645,000, Black African around 1.49 million and Black Caribbean around 623,000. Many more have roots in Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Malaysia, Singapore and beyond.

How did these communities come to Britain?

The story of Britain’s Commonwealth communities is, in large part, the story of post-war Britain. When the HMT Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury on 22 June 1948, carrying passengers from the Caribbean who had come to help rebuild the country, it marked the start of a generation of migration that reshaped British life. That date is now marked each year as Windrush Day.

Migration from India and other parts of South Asia grew through the 1950s and 1960s, often to fill labour shortages in textiles, manufacturing and transport. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, many people of Indian heritage arrived from East Africa — most famously in 1972, when tens of thousands of Ugandan Asians expelled by Idi Amin resettled in Britain. Many arrived with little but went on to build businesses in retail, pharmacy, wholesale, manufacturing and professional services, becoming one of the UK’s most entrepreneurial communities.

Migration from West Africa — particularly Nigeria and Ghana — and from other Commonwealth countries has grown steadily since, bringing new generations of professionals, students and entrepreneurs.

How do diaspora communities drive trade?

• Market knowledge: understanding of customers, culture, regulation and how business really gets done.
• Trust networks: family, community and alumni links that shorten the path to a first meeting and a first deal.
• Entrepreneurship: diaspora-led businesses that import, export and invest in both directions.
• Consumer demand: communities that create UK markets for products from home — and introduce them to the wider public.
• Capital flows: remittances and investment that support businesses and families across the Commonwealth.

How large are diaspora money flows?

Remittances — money sent home by people working abroad — are one of the most tangible economic links between the UK and Commonwealth countries. India has for years been the world’s largest recipient of remittances, receiving well over US$100 billion a year according to World Bank estimates, a share of it from the UK. For several smaller Commonwealth economies, remittances are equivalent to a significant proportion of national income.

These flows matter for business too. They fund homes, education and small enterprises, and they have driven innovation in cross-border payments, as fintech firms compete to make sending money faster and cheaper. Increasingly, diaspora capital also flows as investment rather than family support — into property, start-ups and listed companies in the countries of heritage.

Why are diaspora networks underused?

Too often, diaspora communities are seen through a cultural lens alone, rather than as economic partners. Business councils, chambers and community organisations do valuable work connecting firms with markets, but they are rarely built into mainstream trade strategy. Mainstream UK businesses, meanwhile, frequently overlook the expertise sitting inside their own workforce and supplier base.

How can businesses tap diaspora networks?

1. Join business councils and chambers focused on specific Commonwealth markets.
2. Ask your own team. Colleagues with roots in a target market often have insight no consultant can match.
3. Attend community and cultural events — festivals and celebrations are where relationships begin.
4. Partner with diaspora-led firms that already trade in both directions.