King Charles has said Britain’s role in the slave trade “fills my heart with horror and my soul with profound sorrow” in a major speech—but stop short of offering a formal apology.

The monarch has been under pressure to show contrition this week after the U.K. prime minister reignited the debate about a state apology for transatlantic slavery.

However, Charles chose to empathize rather than apologize during his Caribbean tour. While in Antigua and Barbuda opening the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) on Tuesday, he said: “The transatlantic trade in enslaved persons still casts a shadow over these islands and other members of our Commonwealth. As I have said before, that shameful chapter of history is one that fills my heart with horror and my soul with the most profound personal sorrow.”

He also said that “we can, however, learn from the past” even if “we cannot change the actions” of our forebears.

The king’s office previously said that it wasn’t his place to apologize on behalf of the government. Although British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has opened the door to “discussions about the past” and said he was “open” to “calls for an apology,” he has not delivered his own—and has ruled out financial reparations. CHOGM is a biennial summit of leaders from the 56 member countries of the Commonwealth, a group of nations that recognize Charles as their symbolic head. Most are former British colonies.