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King Charles not making excuses for past atrocities as David Beckham scores dinner with the King
This is a round-up of some of the headline-making news from the UK’s Royal family.
King Charles will have dinner with former footballer David Beckham. Picture: John Sibley – WPA Pool/Getty Images
The UK’s King Charles is currently on a state visit in Kenya and the monarch has spoken with some honesty about the UK’s dark past in the East African country.
As reported by BBC, Charles told a state banquet in Nairobi of his “greatest sorrow and regret” and that there was “no excuse”. But the king did not deliver a formal apology, which would have to be decided by government ministers.
In response, Kenya’s President William Ruto praised the king’s courage for addressing such “uncomfortable truths”.
The Kenyan head of state told the king that colonial rule had been “brutal and atrocious to African people” and that “much remains to be done in order to achieve full reparations”.
Ahead of the king’s visit to Kenya, the first to a Commonwealth country since the start of his reign, there had been speculation about a symbolic royal apology.
The African state is celebrating its 60th anniversary of independence.
“It matters greatly to me that I should deepen my own understanding of these wrongs, and that I meet some of those whose lives and communities were so grievously affected,” averred King Charles.
In particular in Kenya there are memories of the suppression of the Mau Mau uprising, in which thousands were killed and tortured in the 1950s before independence.
A decade ago the UK government voiced its “regrets that these abuses took place” and announced payments of almost £20 million (R450 million) to more than 5 000 people, in what it called a “process of reconciliation”.
Monarchs have to speak on the advice of ministers and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has already rejected calls for an apology on the separate issue of slavery. The lack of an apology on this trip might have disappointed some Kenyans like David Ngasura of the Kenyan Talai clan.
ALSO READ: Royal week: King Charles on Kenya’s past, Prince William and Kate prioritise Mental Health Day
Beckham scores date with King Charles
Following the release of his Netflix documentary, Beckham, the former footballer and now entrepreneur has scored a dinner date with the British monarch.
As reported in the UK’s Mirror, David Beckham has accepted an invitation for dinner with King Charles − potentially clearing the way for him to finally receive a knighthood.
The former England captain will dine with the monarch to discuss the possibility of him assuming a role as an ambassador for The Prince’s Foundation.
The royal charity, set up by the king while he was heir to the throne in 1976, may use Beckham to bring some of his global appeal and star power to their operation.
According to The Sun, Beckham’s desire to be named a ‘Sir’ is an “open secret” and they contend that linking up with the king would “certainly help” him to achieve his dream.
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