Antony Phillipson was responding to the debate Queen Elizabeth's death has provoked about her legacy in South Africa, as in other former colonies, with some commentators seeing her as a reminder of Britain's colonial past.

Britain welcomes healthy, open discussion about some of the "dark stains" of its colonial past, including slavery, says the country's High Commissioner to South Africa, Antony Phillipson.

Phillipson told journalists at a briefing that this was also the view of King Charles III, who became monarch after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, last Thursday.

Phillipson was responding to the debate the queen's death has provoked about her legacy in South Africa, as in other former colonies, with some commentators seeing her as a reminder of Britain's colonial past.

Phillipson said the High Commission had followed the discussion, which it had found "very interesting. There've been a variety of sentiments. But a considerable amount of warmth and positive sentiment as well."

He noted that King Charles III had commented on this himself in his opening address to the Commonwealth summit in Rwanda in June, "where he talked about the need to recognise our past and our shared histories, both the positive and the...