The King has said there is “no excuse” for “abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence” committed by the British against Kenyans in the past, during a speech at a state banquet in the country.
Past wrongs during colonial rule are a cause of the “greatest sorrow and deepest regret,” the monarch added.
The King, who was accompanied by the Queen, was welcomed to the east African country by President William Ruto and the first lady as they began a four-day state visit.
Before the visit, there were renewed calls for the King to say sorry from the Kenyan Human Rights Commission, who have requested an “unequivocal public apology”, and from those whose relatives suffered abuse, particularly during the Mau Mau uprising in the 1950s.
After briefly acknowledging his own personal connections to Kenya and those of his wider family, including Queen Elizabeth II leaving the country as the new monarch after the death of her father in 1952, the King addressed the “shared history” of the two nations.
“It is the intimacy of our shared history that has brought our people together. However, we must also acknowledge the most painful times of our long and complex relationship,” he said.
“The wrongdoings of the past are a cause of the greatest sorrow and the deepest regret.”