King Charles (74) spoke of “profound sadness” when he received President Cyril Ramaphosa (70) at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.
King Charles is making his first state visit this week after becoming regent in September.
During the formal gala dinner at Buckingham Palace, the new monarch gave a speech that is attracting a lot of attention.
King Charles took the opportunity to talk about the highly charged story of 1795 when Britain colonized South Africa.
– Parts of that history produce deep pain, said the king about the time as a colonial power.
– We must admit the mistakes that have shaped our past, if we are to be able to open ourselves to the strength of our common future, said Charles, according to BBC.
King Charles also spoke warmly about South Africa-Britain relations today, trade policy and future visions, but also climate challenges.
Charles also dedicated parts of his speech to the late President Nelson Mandela, whom he praised for helping his nation on its path to democracy.
Cyril Ramaphosa, for his part, also highlighted the longstanding good relationship between the late president and the late queen.
Warm welcome
The South African president was greeted by a grand welcoming ceremony in London on Tuesday, with a large-scale military parade of 200 horses and thousands of soldiers in Green Park.
The state visit had been planned before Queen Elizabeth’s death. The purpose of the visit is to strengthen ties between nations. It has been 12 years since the UK last received a state visit from South Africa, when President Jacob Zuma (80) made the trip.
After the Queen’s death on September 8, VG spoke with the Kenyan author Shailja Patel (52)who, among other things, wrote a book about the violence the British Empire faced in his country.
Patel stated who did not mourn the Queen’s death, because he remembers Queen Elizabeth “as the leader of a brutal and greedy empire that plundered the world and caused mass death and suffering throughout the world”.
In March of this year, Prince William (40) also commented on what he described as “an eternal shame”.
– Slavery was repugnant. It should never have happened, the prince said.
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