Buckingham Palace has stated that it will work with an independent study to investigate the relationship between the British monarchy and the slave trade in the 17th and 18th centuries.
According to the Palace, King Charles takes the issue “extremely seriously.”
The University of Manchester is conducting the study in collaboration with Historic Royal Palaces.
Buckingham Palace is making the Royal Archives and the Royal Collection available to researchers.
Camilla de Koning, a historian, is working on a PhD project that will be completed in 2026.
Both the King and the Prince of Wales have previously expressed their personal grief over the slave trade’s toll on humanity.
During a visit to Rwanda last year, the King expressed “the depths of his personal sorrow” over the suffering caused by the slave trade.
As King, Charles attends the first Easter coin ceremony.
Slavery, Prince William said during a visit to Jamaica last spring, was abhorrent, “should never have happened,” and “forever stains our history.”
Since his accession, the King has pledged to deepen his understanding of slavery’s impact with “vigor and determination,” according to a Buckingham Palace spokesperson.
“This is an issue that His Majesty takes very seriously,” they added.
“Given the complexities of the issues, it is critical to investigate them thoroughly.”
A Palace statement was issued in response to the Guardian’s publication of a previously unseen document showing the 1689 transfer of shares in the slave-trading Royal African Company from slave trader and company deputy governor Edward Colston to King William III.
The King has also stated that each Commonwealth country should determine whether it is a constitutional monarchy or a republic on its own.
He acknowledged that the Commonwealth organization’s roots “run deep into the most painful period of our history,” and that admitting past wrongs was a “conversation whose time has come.”
In addition to the United Kingdom, there are 14 Commonwealth Realms where the King is the head of state.
The Runnymede Trust’s chief executive, Dr Halima Begum, told the BBC that “it is wonderful to see King Charles building on his mother’s legacy.”
She called the monarchy’s gradual engagement on issues related to the injustice of slavery “incredibly encouraging.”
According to Dr. Begum, the “next step could be a royal commission to unearth the complex histories of colonialism,” which would “really inspire millions of British citizens, and of course citizens across the Commonwealth.”
The announcement from the Palace came as the King participated in a centuries-old Easter tradition known as Maundy Thursday for the first time since becoming monarch.