Why State Visit to Kenya Is 'Hugely Important' for King Charles

King Charles III's state visit to Kenya is a "hugely important" moment for the new monarch as the royal family moves towards engaging with the complicated legacy of Britain's colonial past, particularly in relation to race and slavery, Newsweek's chief royal correspondent Jack Royston says.

Charles and Queen Camilla's visit to Kenya from October 31 to November 3 has been made at the invitation of President William Ruto. It marks the king's first state visit to a Commonwealth nation since his accession to the throne over a year ago.

Royston noted during an appearance on Sky News that Charles will be aware of the importance of the wider socio-political climate in which it is being made.

It comes as the royals have become the focus of increasing discussions around the monarchy's involvement in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, race relations, and acquisition of wealth through the building of Britain's empire in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

"I think this is hugely important," Royston said of Charles' Kenyan visit. "I think there are very clearly signs that the royal family are trying to tackle their complicated relationship with race, with racism, with colonialism and with slavery. They know that this is something they have to get much more involved in."

On why Charles may be looking to further engage with these issues, aside from a personal desire to do so, Royston suggested that recent polling may have highlighted its importance as an issue held by members of the public.

"They clearly know that they have a job to do," he said. "I think that is probably partly driven by debates about Meghan [Markle's] experience with the royal family, but also polling which shows that young people are turning off the monarchy. So I think they know they're going to have to get to grips with this and this [visit] is part of what they're doing about it."

One of the main debates surrounding Charles' Kenya visit will be how he addresses the legacy of Britain's violent suppression of what is known as the Mau Mau uprising which took place under colonial rule in the 1950s. This resulted in one of the bloodiest chapters of Britain's post-World War II colonial rule, with thousands of Kenyans being killed in their bid for independence.

Kenya would not gain independence until 1963, and in 2003, members of the Mau Mau were formally recognized as freedom fighters.

In 2013, the British government expressed "regrets" over the abuses which took place in attempts to supress the uprising in Kenya's bid to gain independence, it also settled £20 million ($24 million) on 5,228 people who brought claims over their treatment during the uprising.

With this in mind, Charles could be expected to address the distressing period in his speech given at the state banquet held in Nairobi on October 31 or at some other point in his visit.

As monarch, the king is not expected to go against the government's position on this matter, therefore not going as far as to issue a direct apology as some have called for.

Despite this, reports have suggested that the king intends to address the "painful aspects" of Britain's colonial past during the visit, signifying a line which other official visits to former British colonies by other members of the royal family could take moving forward.

James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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