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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
David Conn Investigations correspondent

The royal crown branded on enslaved Africans: Britain’s monarchy and the slave trade

A close-up of a King Charles's eyes beneath a jewelled crown, with silhouetted figures and ships collaged above
A close-up of a King Charles’s eyes beneath a jewelled crown, with silhouetted figures and ships collaged above Composite: Guardian/Diana Ejaita

Enslaved African people were seared with hot metal brands bearing the royal crown, according to research by historians who have documented the monarchy’s centuries-long involvement in Britain’s slave trade.

The Register of British Slave Traders identifies thousands of people who invested in Britain’s trafficking of enslaved Africans, including kings and queens.

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