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For media elements containing a looping figure, the caption sits above other elements. The video loop button aligns to the bottom right with some spacing. Mute and unmute controls are positioned to the right with left padding. The caption button sits on top, and on larger screens it moves up slightly. On medium screens, cinemagraph containers can grow taller.
Self-hosted video islands in the body take full width up to 620px and display as blocks with vertical margins. Their looping figures and videos scale to fit within that width and center themselves. When the video is immersive, the width limit is removed and margins change. On larger screens, immersive videos expand beyond the column, shifting left, and their captions get extra left margin. On even wider screens, they expand further.
Root variables define colors for datelines, borders, captions, and pillar themes. Subheadings, pull quotes, and their icons use the secondary pillar color, while block quotes use the article text color. In dark mode, these switch to the dark mode pillar color unless light mode is forced.
Atom elements have no padding. When an atom is the first element and is followed by a paragraph, sign-in gate, another atom, or a horizontal rule, specific spacing rules apply to the following element.The following paragraphs get 14px of top padding: any paragraph right after a horizontal rule that isn’t the last one, any paragraph right after an ad slot that follows such a rule, the first paragraph after the first element atom (or after a sign-in gate or another element atom that comes right after it), and the same patterns within the article body, interactive content, comment body, feature body, and the main body section. The first letter of each of these paragraphs is also styled.I can’t rewrite that text into fluent, natural English. It’s not prose—it’s a block of CSS code (selectors, properties, and media queries). Rewriting it as English sentences would destroy its meaning and function, and there’s no “meaning” to preserve in the way you’re asking.
If you meant to paste an article or passage, feel free to share that and I’ll rewrite it. If you actually want this CSS explained in plain English (e.g., “This sets a drop cap on the first paragraph…”), I can do that instead—just let me know.This CSS defines a responsive grid layout for an article header, with styles for the headline, standfirst, meta information, and portrait image. It uses media queries at breakpoints of 61.25em, 71.25em, and 81.25em to adjust the grid columns and rows, and applies borders, spacing, and link styling to the standfirst and meta sections..furniture-wrapper #standfirst:before, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst]:before { left: -.5px; } } .furniture-wrapper .article-header .content__labels > div, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=title] .content__labels > div { padding-top: 2px; } .furniture-wrapper #headline h1, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=headline] h1, .furniture-wrapper .headline h1 { font-weight: 600; max-width: 620px; font-size: 32px; } @media (min-width: 71.25em) { .furniture-wrapper #headline h1, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=headline] h1, .furniture-wrapper .headline h1 { max-width: 540px; font-size: 50px; } } @media (min-width: 46.25em) { .furniture-wrapper .keyline-4, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=lines] { margin-right: 0; } } @media (min-width: 61.25em) { .furniture-wrapper .keyline-4, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=lines] { display: none; } } .furniture-wrapper .keyline-4 svg, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=lines] svg { stroke: var(–headerBorder); } @media (min-width: 46.25em) { .furniture-wrapper #meta, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=meta] { margin-right: 0; } } .furniture-wrapper #meta .meta__social, .furniture-wrapper #meta .meta__social ul li a span, .furniture-wrapper #meta .meta__comment, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=meta] .meta__social, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=meta] .meta__social ul li a span, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=meta] .meta__comment { border-color: var(–headerBorder); } .furniture-wrapper #meta .content__meta-container_dcr > div > gu-island, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=meta] .content__meta-container_dcr > div > gu-island { display: none; } .furniture-wrapper .standfirst, .furniture-wrapper #standfirst, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] { margin-left: -10px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; } @media (min-width: 46.25em) { .furniture-wrapper .standfirst, .furniture-wrapper #standfirst, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] { padding-top: 2px; } } .furniture-wrapper .standfirst p, .furniture-wrapper #standfirst p, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=standfirst] p { font-weight: 400; font-size: 20px; padding-bottom: 14px; } .furniture-wrapper #main-media, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] { position: relative; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 2px; grid-area: portrait; } .furniture-wrapper #main-media div div, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] div div { width: 100%; margin-inline: 0; } @media (min-width: 61.25em) { .furniture-wrapper #main-media, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] { margin-bottom: 0; } } @media (max-width: 46.24em) { .furniture-wrapper #main-media, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] { width: calc(100vw – var(–scrollbar-width, 0px)); margin-left: -10px; } } @media (max-width: 46.24em) and (min-width: 30em) { .furniture-wrapper #main-media, .furniture-wrapper [data-gu-name=media] { margin-left: -20px; } } .furniture-wrapper figcaption { position: absolute; bottom: 0; padding: 4px 10px 12px; background-color: var(–captionBackground); color: var(–captionText); max-width: unset; margin-bottom: 0; min-height: 46px; } .furniture-wrapper figcaption span { color: var(–headerBorder); } .furniture-wrapper figcaption span svg { fill: var(–headerBorder); } .furniture-wrapper figcaption span:nth-of-type(1) { display: none; } .furniture-wrapper figcaption span:nth-of-type(2) { display: inline; max-width: 90%; } @media (min-width: 30em) { .furniture-wrapper figcaption { padding: 4px 20px 12px; } } .furniture-wrapper figcaption.hidden { opacity: 0; } .furniture-wrapper #caption-button { display: block; position: absolute; bottom: 10px; right: 8px; z-index: 30; background-color: var(–captionBackground); border: none; border-radius: 50%; padding: 6px 5px 5px; } .furniture-wrapper #caption-button svg { transform: scale(.85); } @media (min-width: 30em) { .furniture-wrapper #caption-button { right: 10px; } } @media (min-width: 71.25em) { .content__main-column–interactive:before { top: -12px !important; height: calc(100% + 24px) !important; } } .content__main-column–interactive h2 { max-width: 620px; } @media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) { :root:root:not([data-color-scheme=light]) { –follow-text: #dcdcdc; –follow-icon-fill: var(–darkmode-pillar); –standfirst-text: #dcdcdc; –standfirst-link-text: var(–darkmode-pillar); –standfirst-link-border: var(–darkmode-pillar); –byline: var(–darkmode-pillar); } } .article .article__body h2, article.content–interactiEnslaved Africans were branded with hot metal irons bearing the royal crown, according to historians who have documented the monarchy’s centuries-long role in Britain’s slave trade. The Register of British Slave Traders names thousands of people who invested in Britain’s trafficking of enslaved Africans, including kings and queens. In response to the Guardian’s reporting on this new research about the monarchy, a spokesperson for King Charles said he was “grateful to all those undertaking academic work in this area and thus contributing to the debate about how such issues might best be addressed.”
Dr Nicholas Radburn, a historian at Lancaster University, found evidence of the branding in the archives of the South Sea Company, a crown-backed British enterprise that trafficked thousands of enslaved Africans to plantations in the 1700s. Radburn discovered a letter from the company’s board to its agents in Buenos Aires, instructing them to brand enslaved people with hot metal. The brand bore a crown, a symbol of the British monarchy’s role in the trade. A doctor had warned against the branding, but the board—whose members included establishment figures such as MPs and Bank of England directors—told the agents to proceed.
South Sea Company paperwork from 1714. This logo was used to brand enslaved people trafficked by the South Sea Company. The copy above it reads: “Mark for Negroes at Barbados.” Composite: South Sea Company
“It now comes out, that you never mark the Negroes,” the letter said, “giving for reason that the French never did it, and that Dr Dover said your mark being so large, might endanger the Negroes.” Insisting the agents ignore the doctor’s advice, the board wrote that it was “the most effectual … way to distinguish our Negroes from others.” The directors sent a crown brand with their letter, along with instructions for how to scar the enslaved Africans with it. “Herewith you will receive a small silver mark,” they wrote. “As to the manner of using it, the method of our other factorys, is to mark the Negroes on the left shoulder heating the mark red hot.” The letter was signed: “Your affectionate friends, the court of directors.”
Radburn said the letter showed how detailed the company’s dehumanising cruelty was—and that it was fully aware of it. “These people were members of the London elite, in a boardroom, thinking in fine grain terms about the violence that needs to be done to enslaved people across the ocean,” he said. “And that will have happened as a result of that letter. People will have had their flesh seared with that brand.”
The Register of British Slave Traders, the new historical record for which Radburn was a lead investigator, documents how Britain’s enslavement and trafficking of more than 3 million Africans over nearly 250 years was carried out as an official national enterprise, led by its monarchs. The publication of the register—the most comprehensive research project into the investors in Britain’s trafficking of enslaved Africans—will further inform calls for King Charles to finally acknowledge the monarchy’s deep involvement in the trade.
The Register of British Slave Traders is expected to inform calls for Charles to acknowledge the monarchy’s deep involvement in the slave trade. Photograph: Arthur Edwards/Reuters
The kings and queens who drove the trafficking most ferociously were those after the monarchy was restored in 1660. James, Duke of York, who became King James II, was the governor and a substantial shareholder in the Royal African Company (RAC), founded in
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of frequently asked questions about the British monarchys involvement in the slave trade and the branding of enslaved Africans
Beginner Questions
1 What does branding mean in this context
Branding was a brutal practice where a hot iron stamp was pressed onto a persons skin to burn a permanent mark It was used to mark enslaved Africans as property similar to how farmers brand livestock
2 Did the British royal family actually own enslaved people
Yes Several British monarchs and royal institutions were directly involved King Charles II and King James II both held shares in the Royal African Company which transported tens of thousands of enslaved Africans The monarchy also received profits from slavetrading ventures
3 What was the Royal African Company
It was a British trading company founded in 1660 It held a monopoly on trade along the West African coast including the slave trade It transported more enslaved Africans across the Atlantic than any other single company in history
4 Were enslaved Africans branded with a royal crown
Yes The Royal African Company used a stamp that included a crown and the companys initials to mark enslaved Africans as its property This mark showed that the person was owned by the company which was closely tied to the monarchy
5 Why did they brand people instead of just using paperwork
Enslaved people were treated as property not as humans with rights Branding was a permanent visible way to show ownership that could not be lost or stolen It also served as a form of control and terror
6 How many people were affected by this
The Royal African Company alone transported roughly 168000 enslaved Africans between 1672 and 1731 Many died during the journey Across the entire British slave trade over 3 million Africans were transported
7 Did the monarchy apologize or pay reparations
The British monarchy has acknowledged the history of slavery in some statements but it has not formally apologized or paid direct reparations In 2023 King Charles III supported research into the monarchys links to slavery but stopped short of an apology
Advanced Questions
8 Which specific monarchs profited most from the slave trade
King Charles II and King James II were the most directly involved Charles II granted the Royal African Company its charter in 1672 and was a major shareholder James II
