A Jamaican delegation has arrived in London to hand a landmark petition to King Charles III, formally requesting that the British monarch use his constitutional authority to seek legal guidance on the question of slavery reparations — the first time a Commonwealth nation has pursued this legal route for reparatory justice.

The petition, led by Jamaica's Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange, asks Charles — who serves as Jamaica's head of state — to refer three questions to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the Caribbean island's highest court of appeal, which is based in London. Under the Judicial Committee Act of 1833, the British monarch holds the authority to request advisory opinions from the court. The questions seek to determine whether the enslavement of Africans in Jamaica was legal under English common law, whether it constituted a crime against humanity under international law, and whether Britain bears a legal obligation to provide restitution for slavery and its enduring consequences. Buckingham Palace confirmed awareness of the petition, noting that Charles has "expressed his personal and wholehearted commitment to promoting greater understanding around the issue of slavery," while clarifying that the king plays no role in deciding the substance of the claim.

British merchants enslaved and forcibly transported between 600,000 and one million Africans to Jamaica between the 17th century and the early 19th century. Shortly after abolishing slavery in 1833, the British government paid slave owners the equivalent of $27m in compensation — roughly 40 percent of the Treasury's annual income — financing it through loans that were not fully repaid until 2015. Enslaved people and their descendants received nothing. The Jamaican government estimates it is owed approximately $10bn in reparations, a claim the UK has repeatedly rejected.

Grange was careful not to pre-empt the outcome of the legal process. "We want the answers. Once we get the answers, then the next steps will be determined," she said, adding that inherited disadvantages from slavery continue to affect Jamaica's ability to respond to modern challenges, including climate change. Ralph Gonsalves, a former prime minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines and an adviser to the Repair Campaign — a social movement for reparatory justice — reinforced this view, arguing that "European nations were enriched because of the enslavement of African bodies" and that the legacies of underdevelopment are still acutely felt across the Caribbean.

The visit carries broader significance beyond Jamaica's own claim. It forms part of a growing international push for reparatory justice: in March, 123 nations backed a UN resolution describing chattel slavery as among the gravest crimes against humanity, though the UK abstained. A Caribbean reparations conference is planned for later this month in Barbados, with further advocacy expected at the UN General Assembly in September and the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua in November. The delegation's programme in London also includes meetings with British MPs and discussions with the British Museum over the repatriation of Jamaican cultural artefacts.