Why Britain's royals won't apologize for profiting off slavery, and why Prince Harry's admission matters

London — The publisher of Prince Harry's new memoir Spare says it's selling at a record-setting pace. Readers bought more than 1.4 million copies of the Duke of Sussex's book the day it was published last week, and it's still making headlines.

One thing Harry put down on paper that has continued to stoke debate was a brief comment that his family had made a fortune from the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Britain's centuries-old monarchy is known for many things, from pomp and pageantry to family discord. Its historical connection to slavery, however, has been far less a part of the public discussion, at least until recently.