KING BACKS ROYALS' SLAVERY LINKS PROBE

THE King has expressed his support for the first time for research into historical links between the monarchy and the transatlantic slave trade.

- RUSSELL MYERS

Buckingham Palace said Charles takes the issue "profoundly seriously".

It added the Royal Household will help the study by offering access to the Royal Collection and the Royal Archives.

The independent research - a PhD project by historian Camilla de Koning at Manchester University - will look at the monarchy's involvement in the slave trade and engagement with the Empire in the 17th and 18th centuries.