King Charles is under fresh pressure after new research revealed that King George IV personally pocketed profits from enslaved labour on Crown owned estates in Grenada.
The groundbreaking study by independent scholar Desirée Baptiste uncovered a historic payment of £1,000 in 1823–24 worth more than £103,000 today that went directly into King George IV’s private accounts.
The money came from two royal estates in Grenada where hundreds of enslaved Africans endured brutal conditions, providing what experts say is undeniable proof of the monarchy’s direct financial gain from slavery.
Arley Gill, chair of the Grenada Reparations Commission, said that while King Charles has expressed sorrow for slavery in the past, it is not enough.
“He is still the head of state,” Gill insisted. “It will not be worthy of him to lead a country he profited from in slavery without apology and reparations.”
Baptiste’s findings verified by academics at the University of Manchester and University College London add to a mounting body of evidence linking the Royal Family to the transatlantic slave trade.
Professor Edmond Smith, who is leading a broader study backed by King Charles himself, warned that this payment could be “just the tip of the iceberg.”
The King carefully worded reflections on the horrors of slavery are facing renewed criticism as Caribbean nations ramp up calls for a formal royal apology and compensation.
In 2022, the monarch described slavery as a source of “deep personal sorrow.”
Yet, at last year’s Commonwealth summit, he stopped short of addressing reparations directly that has left campaigners increasingly frustrated. For many in Grenada, Jamaica, and across the region, the era of vague regret has passed.
Recent weeks have seen a coordinated push from Caribbean leaders, with Jamaica and Grenada joining other nations in demanding tangible action.
In July, regional leaders backed Jamaica’s petition urging Charles to seek legal advice on whether the forced transportation of Africans constituted a crime against humanity and whether Britain has an obligation to provide redress.
While Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government has flatly rejected reparations, stating, “we do not pay reparations,” campaigners argue the monarchy operates as a separate institution and can still take both symbolic and material steps toward justice.