On June 8, at the start of his “historic” six-day visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Belgium’s King Philippe expressed regret for the countless “acts of violence and humiliations” his country has inflicted on nationals. Congolese during the colonial era.

“On the occasion of my first trip to Congo, here, in front of the Congolese people,” said the 62-year-old monarch, “I want to reaffirm my deepest regrets for these wounds of the past.”

The “wounds” evoked by the Belgian king are of course particularly deep: under the rule of Belgium, the Congolese population decreased considerably due to a combination of murder, starvation, exhaustion, exposure, diseases and a falling birth rate. According to some estimates, more than 10 million Congolese were killed under Belgian rule.

In addition to his regrets, King Philippe also returned to the DRC a Congolese mask, one of the approximately 84,000 objects stolen between 1884 and 1960 that Belgium undertook to return, during his visit.

Nevertheless, the monarch did nothing new or morally substantial during his stay in Kinshasa to compensate for the systemic atrocities committed by his ancestors.

In fact, he seemed to simply be taking a leaf from Britain’s Prince Charles’ ‘sane expressions of royal regret’ playbook.

In 2018, during a visit to Ghana, Prince Charles expressed his alleged regret over Britain’s role in enabling and promoting the transatlantic slave trade. “The appalling atrocity of the slave trade and the unimaginable suffering it caused has left an indelible mark on the history of our world,” he said.

Then, shamelessly, he praised Britain for ending the slave trade which it had, in fact, helped to develop: ensuring that the abject horror of slavery did not never be forgotten.

Since that utterly meaningless and inconsequential expression of regret helped Prince Charles score much-needed public relations points both at home and abroad, many European royals have followed his example and enthusiastically expressed their “regret” and “sorrow” over the “injuries”. opened by their ancestors.

Months before King Philip’s seemingly painful visit to the DRC, for example, Prince Charles’ own son, Prince William, also expressed his “deep sadness” at slavery and described it as a “stain”. on British history during a visit to Jamaica. . In return, the British media described his fragile and predictable expression of “grief” as “emotional” and published articles praising his performance in the country.

There has been very little discussion of how Jamaicans have responded to Prince William’s expression of sadness. In fact, the protests demanding reparations for the slave trade that took place at the British High Commission in Jamaica in response to the Prince’s visit were barely mentioned in media coverage.

All of this begs the question: what is the real purpose behind these displays of royal regret? Are these ‘painful’ royals trying to appease the unfortunate victims of colonization and the silence of calls for redress, or are they simply trying to reclaim some ‘woke’ points and remain relevant at home in Europe?

The answer, perhaps, is a bit of both.

Therefore, the peoples of the Global South should not accept as sincere, or attempt to attach meaning to, the expressions of regret and grief coming from members of the European royal family who to this day enjoy the gains their families have achieved through colonial looting.

After all, emotional speeches delivered at lavish dinners or televised lectures by mostly helpless aristocrats will do nothing to right the wrongs of yesteryear. And perhaps most importantly, such calculated expressions of grief and regret will do nothing to address the devastating consequences of colonialism that continue to plague the Global South today.

In April, for example, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report that identified colonialism as a significant cause of climate change. And on June 8, a report commissioned by 55 developing countries from Africa, Asia, the Americas and the Pacific found that the impact of climate change has wiped out around 20% of their economic growth over the past two decades. . The report adds that developed countries are failing to meet a commitment of $100 billion a year to help developing countries adapt. Developed countries are responsible for 80% of greenhouse gas emissions, but developing countries are disproportionately affected by climate change.

In April, widespread flooding in KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa caused more than 400 deaths and massive damage to infrastructure and left thousands homeless. In neighboring Mozambique, more than 700,000 people affected by Cyclone Gombe in March still need humanitarian assistance according to the International Organization for Migration.

Like South Africa and Mozambique, the mineral and resource-rich DRC is struggling to overcome the consequences of colonialism. Some 73 percent of the DRC’s population, or 60 million people, live below the international poverty line and the country is riddled with internal conflicts linked to the legacy of colonialism. Meanwhile, the country’s cobalt mining industry is accused of perpetrating human rights abuses, corruption, environmental destruction and child labor for the commercial benefit of “old” companies. » colonial powers, such as Apple, Google, Dell, Microsoft and Tesla.

Colonialism is not, by any stretch of the imagination, “dead” or a “wound of the past” that can be excused by the royal family of the present. Returning a few artifacts or writing tearful speeches in front of the cameras will not end the extreme poverty, human rights abuses and climate change devastation that people in the global South are experiencing as a result of the colonialism yesterday and today.

King Philip, Prince Charles or William deserve no praise for expressing regret over colonialism and slavery. We should not accept carefully constructed words from experienced and expensive PR teams to score awake points for the Royal Family and try to subdue the masses who are rightly demanding reparations.

If the European royal family really wants to make a difference and atone for the mistakes of its ancestors, it should start by passing on its considerable wealth to its rightful owners and supporting systemic decolonization on a global scale.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.