Caribbean Leaders Meet King Charles Under Portrait of Slave-Profiting Monarch

Advocacy groups and scholars are condemning King Charles after he was photographed with Caribbean officials beneath a portrait of George IV, a monarch who profited from slave labor. The March 10 reception at St. James's Palace has sparked calls for the British monarchy to better confront its historical connections to slavery.

Advocacy groups and researchers are condemning the British royal family following a controversial photograph from a recent diplomatic gathering in London.

The image, taken during a March 10 Commonwealth Day reception at St. James’s Palace, shows King Charles III standing with Caribbean government representatives underneath a large portrait of George IV, a former monarch who financially benefited from enslaved people’s labor.

The gathering included foreign ministers from Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago, along with Grenada’s high commissioner to Britain, Rachér Croney, and other Caribbean diplomatic officials. The group of 29 attendees posed with Charles and British Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper for the photograph, which was later distributed through various Caribbean government social media accounts.

Independent researcher Desirée Baptiste’s findings, shared with Reuters in 2023, revealed that George IV received approximately 1,000 pounds—equivalent to about 103,000 pounds in today’s currency—from profits generated by two Crown-owned estates in Grenada. These properties relied on the forced labor of hundreds of enslaved individuals during the 18th and 19th centuries. George IV ruled Britain from 1820 to 1830.

“It is offensive to have his portrait up,” said Arley Gill, who chairs Grenada’s National Reparations Committee. “It is doubly offensive to have persons of African descent with the king below a photograph of him.”

“It just rubs salt in the wounds,” Gill added.

Gill suggested the controversy surrounding the photograph could serve as a learning opportunity for Caribbean officials to better understand the historical impact of slavery.

Baptiste described the photograph as a “diplomatic misstep” by palace officials and called on Charles to “deepen his understanding” of how the monarchy participated in the slave trade.

Robert Beckford, a British theology professor with Jamaican roots, characterized the group portrait as demonstrating “historical amnesia.”

“Standing beneath royal portraits normalises forgetting,” Beckford stated.

The current monarch has previously acknowledged the painful legacy of slavery, expressing regret during a 2022 address to Commonwealth leaders. Charles has also supported academic research examining the royal family’s historical involvement in the slave trade.

Additional research published by The Guardian in 2023 uncovered that King William III, who reigned from 1689 to 1702, received 1,000 pounds worth of shares in the Royal African Company, an organization responsible for transporting thousands of enslaved Africans to the Americas.

Buckingham Palace officials have not responded to requests for comment regarding the controversial photograph.

The incident has intensified calls from experts for the monarchy to issue a comprehensive apology and fully acknowledge how the institution profited from slavery throughout history.