Burnham rejects claims proposing slavery talks put King Charles under pressure

The Prime Minister has denied suggestions that proposing discussions over a slavery apology has created problems for the King.

Andy Burnham stated he was "reaching out and listening" ahead of his first meeting with Charles since extending the gesture to nations affected by British colonial slavery.

Their meeting occurred in Antigua, where the King will open the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) on Tuesday, an event expected to focus heavily on reparations and slavery apologies.

Mr Burnham has faced criticism from political opponents claiming he placed the King under strain by expressing openness to "listening to calls for a formal apology" regarding slavery, while firmly ruling out reparations.

The King and the Prime Minister reconnected at a Commonwealth Business Forum held at the Sticky Wicket, a bar and restaurant next to a cricket ground.

When asked by ITV News on arrival if he had "made things more difficult" for the King, Mr Burnham said: "No. We are reaching out and listening. The whole aim here has been to come and listen and bring a new approach to the Commonwealth, and to bring people together."

The royal family has longstanding ties to the forced transportation and sale of enslaved people. Elizabeth I funded the lucrative voyages of early slave trader John Hawkins, and Charles II later promoted the trade's expansion.

During the campaign to abolish slavery, abolitionists were actively opposed by George III's son, the Duke of Clarence, who later became William IV.

The Prime Minister declined to answer whether the King should offer a personal apology on behalf of his royal ancestors.

Earlier, Buckingham Palace had insisted that King Charles has a non-political role in the Commonwealth.

The Palace added that the King helps “bring people together from both the public and private sectors across the whole family of 56 nations, encouraging practical collaboration and creating momentum behind ideas that are now moving through Commonwealth channels.

“In that sense, His Majesty's most significant contribution has been helping to connect leaders, institutions and investors – many of whom he knows personally from his many years of international diplomacy - around shared areas of interest and concern, creating the conditions in which ambitious Commonwealth-led initiatives can emerge and succeed.”