The British royal family is facing embarrassment on the international stage this week as protests disrupt their tour of former British colonies in the Caribbean. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are in the Caribbean.
The trip was supposed to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee. Observers say the trip was meant to convince the three countries to keep the Queen as head of state, and not follow in the footsteps of Barbados, which transitioned to a republic last November. The region's colonial past has become a topic of discussion after calls to cut ties with the Queen and campaigns for slavery compensation.
Prince William and Kate arrived in Jamaica on March 22. The Independent reported that the Jamaican government had begun the process of transitioning the island nation to a republic.
It was a difficult time for the royals. One hundred Jamaican academics, politicians, and cultural figures signed an open letter on the day before the couple's arrival in the country, calling on the royal family and the British government to apologize and pay compensation for subjecting the island to colonial rule and slavery.
We believe that an apology for British crimes against humanity, including but not limited to the exploitation of the indigenous people of Jamaica, is necessary to begin a process of healing.
The letter says that Prince William and Kate are direct beneficiaries of the wealth accumulated by the royal family. The letter states that there is no reason to celebrate 70 years of the ascension of your grandmother to the British throne because her leadership has perpetuated the greatest human rights tragedy.
The Advocates Network staged a protest outside the British High Commission in Kingston to coincide with the arrival of a couple. The demonstrators held banners reading "#SehYuhSorry" and "Reparations".
Prince William stopped short of an apology during an address to Jamaica's prime minister.
The Prince of Wales said last year that the atrocity of slavery was intolerable.
The Prince's words were called unacceptable by the Advocates Network. There was no call out of centuries of British bloody conquest and plunder.
The couple on their tour had a lot of controversy. They canceled their engagement the day before they arrived in Belize. Locals objected to William and Kate's plans to land their helicopter on a football pitch without consulting them, and staged a protest against the visit.
William supports a charity that is involved in a land dispute with indigenous communities. Locals claim that the charity controls their ancestral lands, which were lost in the colonial era. The demonstrators carried banners reading "Prince William leave our land" and "Colonial legacy of theft continues with Prince and FFI".
Queen Elizabeth II is the monarch of the U.K., but also of 14 other countries, including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The majority of countries in the Commonwealth of Nations no longer recognize the Queen as their head of state.
The Queen is a symbolic head of state but the countries are ruled by elected governments. The Queen is not involved in governing but she still has some constitutional duties, such as approving new governments and legislation, which are carried out by a royal representative.
Although the Queen's position in these nations is symbolic, the U.K. government believes that Britain has an outsized influence on the world.
In November, the Queen was removed from her position as head of state. The time has come to leave our colonial past behind, said DameSandra Mason, the island's governor-general.
The debate about abolishing the monarchy has been going on for decades. In 1999 and 2009, Australia and the Grenadines held failed referendums on becoming republics. The Prime Minister of New Zealand told the Guardian that she expected the country to become a republic in her lifetime.
The public and government may not be able to give up the monarchy even if they want it. The constitution of Barbados allowed the government to make its own decisions. It can only happen through a referendum with a two-thirds majority in Jamaica.
The role of the Queen in the Commonwealth is symbolic, but attitudes towards the royal family are different. Although Elizabeth is popular in many Caribbean countries, she is not really relevant.
He says that they don't have a problem with her or the monarchy.
It is believed that keeping the Queen as head of state undermines independence and only perpetuates colonial subservience. Jamaican-born British writer and academic Dr. Velma McCarthy told Time that it is still an infant colony.
Jamaica celebrates its 60th anniversary of independence from Britain this year, and calls for republicanism are growing. Mark Golding, leader of the Jamaican opposition, said that the killing of George Floyd in 2020 and the Black Lives Matter protests renewed conversations about national identity in Jamaica.
The royal family should apologize for their involvement with the slave trade and the plantation system, which our people went through for a few hundred years, according to Golding.
Although William and Kate's trip to Jamaica may have been morefraught than they expected, Golding hopes it was a revelation for the couples at the center of the royal family.
Many people want compensation for the centuries of human rights violations that still impact former colonies today. The Caribbean Community unanimously passed a 10-point plan to compensate former colonies for centuries of exploitation and slavery. Debt cancellation and a return of the descendants of slaves are some of the demands. According to the body, the main cause of development failure in the Caribbean is the subjugation of former colonies by European governments.
McCarthy says that Jamaicans are still struggling and relying on their relatives abroad.
The first biracial woman to marry into the royal family is being accused of racism in former British colonies.
She was vilified as a Black woman because she was a member of the royal family.
The royal family was forced to respond to the allegations. Prince William defended the monarchy while the Queen issued a statement saying they were concerned.
The public's opinion of the Queen remains high despite a number of royal scandals. Her heir may not be the same. The Queen is more popular than the heir to the throne, Prince Charles, according to a poll.
Who paid Prince Andrew's settlement to Virginia Giuffre? What do you know about Royal Finances?
The Queen is thought to be investing in Prince William and Kate as future leaders of the royal family. Charles may not be on the throne as long as his mother, but the couple are more popular than him. The scale of the opposition William and Kate faced may well trouble the Queen.
The future of the British monarchy outside the U.K. is more about national identity than it is about royal popularity, according to a political analyst. He says it is not about an individual.
We can be reached at letters@time.com.
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