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20
Oct 2021
David Harewood confronts Earl of Harewood House over slavery past
Actor David Harewood sat down for a difficult conversation with the current Earl of Harewood House, whose family kept his four times grandparents as slaves.
The extraordinary moment was captured for a new Channel 5 documentary series 1000 Years A Slave, which aired for the first time last night.
Harewood House, an 18th century stately home near Harrogate, has been trying to take on the estate's colonial past for more than 25 years.
In the TV programme Mr Harewood travelled to Barbados where he discovered the names of his ancestors, Richard and Betty.
He also discovered that they were slaves on a plantation owned by the Harewood Estate so set up a meeting with David Lascelles, the eighth Earl of Harewood.
The pair looked through the second Earl of Harewood's account of slaves where Mr Harewood's ancestors Richard and Betty were listed.
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David Harewood, who was the star of Homeland and Blood Diamond, told Mr Lascelles:
In reply Mr Lascelles explained that he does not feel guilty for the actions of his ancestors but added that he is accountable:
In a statement after the programme aired a spokesperson for Harewood House said:
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