Story perspectives

Jamaica petitions King to send slavery questions to Privy Council

9/10/2026

Summary

Grange petitions UK

Minister Olivia Grange filed a petition urging King Charles III to refer Jamaican slavery questions to the Privy Council.
The petition asks whether Jamaican enslavement was legal under English law, breached international law, and obliges Britain to redress.
Jamaica estimates Britain owes about $10 billion in reparations for the transatlantic slave trade.
The UK government will not pay reparations, despite a UN committee ruling states must consider them.

Summary

Palace Declines

Buckingham Palace declined to host the Jamaican delegation, saying a face-to-face meeting was not practical.
The palace said petitions must be lodged with the Judicial Committee registrar, not delivered to the monarch.
The team will meet the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the British Museum to discuss repatriation.
Legal scholar Craig Prescott called Jamaica’s use of the 1833 procedure a “clever” but atypical legal move.

History

Historical Context

In 1833 the British Parliament, led by Prime Minister Charles Grey, passed the Slavery Abolition Act, freeing about 800,000 enslaved people and allocating £20 million to compensate owners. The scheme paid roughly 42,000 claimants. Jamaica’s Minister Olivia Grange now asks King Charles III to send the island’s reparations claim to the Privy Council, echoing that historic precedent.

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Grange petitions UK

Minister Olivia Grange filed a petition urging King Charles III to refer Jamaican slavery questions to the Privy Council.
The petition asks whether Jamaican enslavement was legal under English law, breached international law, and obliges Britain to redress.
Jamaica estimates Britain owes about $10 billion in reparations for the transatlantic slave trade.
The UK government will not pay reparations, despite a UN committee ruling states must consider them.

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