King Charles regrets acts of violence against Kenyans in historic speech: 'no excuse'

King Charles III, who's on four-day state visit to Kenya, has described Britain's treatment of Kenyans fighting for independence as abhorrent and unjustifiable.

On the first day of his state visit to Kenya, King Charles tackled head on the controversy over the British colonial administration’s alleged torture and suppression of Mau Mau suspects during the Emergency of 1952-60.

The 74-year-old Britain's monarch, who had faced calls from activists for a fulsome apology, did not quite go that far but he expressed his sorrow and regret over the treatment.

In his much-awaited speech in front of a large number of guests at State House, Prince William and Prince Harry's father recalled his family’s visits to Kenya and the fact that his eldest son chose to ask the then Kate Middleton to marry him while they were there in 2010.

The King got emotional while sharing the pain of  Kenyans, saying: "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."

“The wrongdoings of the past are a cause of the greatest sorrow and the deepest regret. There were abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence committed against Kenyans as they waged, as you said at the United Nations, a painful struggle for independence and sovereignty – and for that, there can be no excuse."

King Charles went on: "In coming back to Kenya, it matters greatly to me that I should deepen my own understanding of these wrongs, and that I meet some of those whose lives and communities were so grievously affected."

The King and Queen also paid tribute to Mau Mau fighters and others who took part in the long struggle for Kenyan statehood under British colonial rule during a sneak preview tour of the Mashujaa Museum, which is due to open to the public early next year, shortly after the country celebrates its 60th anniversary of independence on December 12.

The King and Queen also honoured the Kenyan independence heroes once designated terrorists by Britain when they visited the new national museum in Nairobi.