Whoopi Goldberg says the royal family should apologize for the UK's history with slavery

• Whoopi Goldberg has called on the royal family to apologize for Britain's involvement in slavery.
• "The View" co-host urged "Charles [or] William" to apologize on behalf of the royal family.

Whoopi Goldberg has called on the royal family to apologize for Britain's historic involvement in slavery.

"The View" co-host spoke in reference to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's royal tour of Belize, Jamaica, and the Bahamas where Prince William expressed "profound sorrow" over the history of slavery at a dinner hosted by the Governor General of Jamaica.

"We cannot ignore the fact that Britain ran ramshod over India for years," Goldberg said on Wednesday's episode of "The View" (her comments start around the two-minute mark). "Let us not forget, when we talk about what needs to happen, all the folks that need to apologize."

"Listen, this is not new. I suspect Charles, when he was in Barbados, had some idea because he went on and apologized as he was releasing the hold that Britain has," she continued, referencing the Prince of Wales' November 2021 speech, which acknowledged the "appalling atrocity of slavery, which forever stains our history."

"So perhaps somebody is listening, and it's the new group of folks — I don't know if it's Charles, William, but one of them is supposed to be the person," Goldberg said.

The Duke of Cambridge's Wednesday speech followed an anti-colonial demonstration outside the British High Commission. Around 350 protesters called for an apology for Britain's role in slavery, though Prince William did not apologize in his speech.

The royal couple's tour has faced numerous protests, even forcing them to cancel the first stop on their trip. Additionally, Jamaica has reportedly begun the process to remove Queen Elizabeth II as the country's head of state.

The history of Britain's involvement in the slave trade is extensive. While slavery was abolished in the UK in 1833, the British government spent £20 million — the equivalent to £20 billion or $26.4 billion today — to compensate slave owners for the "loss of their 'property,'" according to the BBC. The debts amounted by the government were only paid off in 2015 and records have shown that the descendants of public figures like former Prime Minister David Cameron and author George Orwell benefited from these compensations.

"Slavery was abhorrent and it never should have happened," William said. "I strongly agree with my father, the Prince of Wales, who said in Barbados last year that the appalling atrocity of slavery forever stains our history."

He acknowledged the country's "courage and fortitude" and referenced its "invincible spirit" among the Windrush generation, which describes Caribbean immigrants who arrived in the UK between 1948 and 1971.