Kate & Will's Caribbean Trip

Prince William said in his speech last night slavery has left a stain on our nation The Prince of Wales said something similar on his last visit there. He had a discussion with the Jamaican PM regarding removing the Queen as Head of State during this year (the 60th Anniversary of gaining their independence, which is fitting)

The photos of the two of them diving in Belize had a point to make, the reef is the second biggest in the world, and publicising this and the conservation work being done is vital to the planet.

There are plenty of pictures/videos of them being warmly welcomed, but the U.K. press has obviously decided that it’s get a William and Catherine time (they must be bored with Harry and Meghan) and choose to push the few protesters.

Nothing has so far convinced me that the U.K. would be better off with an elected Head of State as opposed to the Monarchy.

He didn't have a discussion with the Jamaican PM though, the Jamaican PM told them what he and his people think about being reigned over by some family a few thousand miles away.

It's not, as someone said above, the host nations being ill mannered for not being nice to the people they invited; they weren't invited. They just thought they'd turn up for a wee trip around their colonies to remind people that their family still have a claim to them and tell them all they are all doing very well.

I'm sure that previous tours by Royals have had to deal with demonstrations from locals. But they've never had to cancel engagements before; they've never had to stand there while a PM told them that they weren't really necessary any more, not on live TV, anyway.

The diving off a reef is a PR faux pas, it really is. Its being seen as two posh folk going for a nice swim and pointing at fish. Its not raising awareness. Its not publicising it. And the fact that the Cambridges and their advisors think this is the right way to raise consciousness of environmental issues shows how out of touch they are with the real world.

BTW, one "journalist" this morning is blaming Meghan for the Cambridge's tour not being successful. You gotta laugh, haven't you?

Well love her or hate her, Meghan clearly has nothing to do with this.

It does if you are a Daily Mail reader.

And I mean a Daily Mail reader, before anyone decides that's being discriminatory. It's the Daily Mail who are blaming her. It's as transparent as can be.

Words without action don't mean much.

They have their Independence they need to cut the final tie to the UK,nothing strange about it .Its normal to have people who know .love amd have a counytr's interests at hear ruling over it .Not some old biddy thousnds of miles away who only knows it from visits when schoolkids are handed flags and told to wave them and cheer .Even though they haven't a clue who she is or the horrors of a past she represents .
It happens here ,children dragged out of school and made to wave flags ...not mine I always kept them off school on Royal visit days to the area .The people behind wire fences and the carrying at shoulder height by NATIVES ,well ...that certainly showed how out of date this monarchy nonsense is

Just wanted to cringe when the Jamaican president(?) mentioned their forthcoming independence with natural enthusiasm. Thought PW took it on the chin rather well without moving a muscle.

JaneJudge

I was actually embarrassed for and of them

So was I especially when the Jamaican chap told them what he was among to do.

They should only visit places to which they have been invited.
Can these small Caribbean Islands even afford to host the Royal Entourage?
I think that their role now is purely Symbolic and if they are invited to open something and cut a ribbon then fine, if not then they should stay at home in their Palaces.

I’ve nothing against any of them, but I wouldn’t cross the road to see them.

Urmstongran

Poor show, Jamaica. It's like asking someone over for dinner and saying we don't really like you, please don't come back. 100% fine with them leaving - it’s their democratic choice after all, but their timing is off. What is it with people who lack manners this week?

We’re the people who protested the same ones who did the inviting? I had not realized that.

If that’s the case it seems a great deal of their money wasted.

Or is it possible that people in Jamaica have different opinions? Just like people in all other countries?

I wonder if China is playing a role in this? I doesn’t bother me at all if Jamaica and others become republics but we should pay attention to what is really happening.

Jamaica is not a 'small Caribbean island', it's one of the bigger ones. It is poor, though.

Surely the islands' governments were consulted about the visits? They could have said 'no', couldn't they?

I've been looking at The Gleaner. Lots of breathless reporting of Kate's wardrobe, along with reporting of the protests. I suspect that actual opinion on the island is pretty evenly split.

Jamaica has been discussing full independence for at least a decade. It's not exactly shock news.

Urmstongran

I wonder if China is playing a role in this? I doesn’t bother me at all if Jamaica and others become republics but we should pay attention to what is really happening.

China has been busy buying up, sorry, 'investing' in the Caribbean for a long time. I note that the Jamaica Gleaner's facebook page is titled in Chinese as well as English.

I read that the ordinary citizens of Jamaica are not happy about China’s investments in their country.

Plenty of Chinese investment in the U.K. - the national grid for one. Maybe we should be more concerned about that.

I am concerned vegansrock. Our empire days are thankfully behind us. China seems to be building one in Africa and many other places

I thought this comment was interesting:

“I think what this tour has shown is widespread misunderstandings about the role of the Commonwealth, and the role of the monarchy,” says royal biographer Robert Hardman, author of a new book, Queen of Our Times: The Life of Elizabeth II. “We hear Jamaican politicians and commentators talk about the need for Jamaica to be ‘fully independent’ – yet it already is. It has been as independent as the UK or Canada or Australia since August 1962, when it became a free, autonomous democracy. It could have opted for a presidential system back then, but it was the Jamaicans themselves – not the British government, let alone the Queen – who specifically chose to retain her as head of state, not least as a bulwark against overmighty politicians.”

The Queen’s view, Hardman suggests, will be “that if it is the settled will of the people to ditch the Crown, then that is their choice. But some of this week’s angry social media depictions of the Royal family as an imperial throwback clinging to power are nonsense. Jamaica could have changed its constitution anytime – like Trinidad did in 1976 – but chose not to.”

Volver:

"I will never get out of my mind the image of those two scuba diving in Belize while the people of Jamaica were standing there on a rough bit of ground protesting their arrival.

Tone deaf or what?"

I agree. What sort of publicity management do they employ?
The Cambridges' bad taste (to say the least)is indisputable in the case of their tone-deaf visit to Jamaica.

I am no longer a monarchist.

also Jamaica

I’ve had a foot in both camps for years, seeing the advantages of both a monarchy and a republic, but I’ve been gradually veering more and more to the idea of a republic. I think this awful tour has made up my mind finally for me. It’s been embarrassing to watch and embarrassing for us as a country. I don’t blame William and Catherine, they were just doing what they were told they had to do. I think the time has finally come. The citizens of the UK need a referendum on this subject and I would vote republic. Whatever the outcome, at least we’d be doing what the majority of the people wanted. To my mind, it’s time to end it whenever the Queen is no longer with us.

Agree with Urmstongran’s post .

To my mind, it’s time to end it whenever the Queen is no longer with us.

No wonder she doesn't want to be seen in a wheelchair!!

I would rather we have Charles as the next monarch, one only
has to think of our present and past prime ministers as president. Pointless argument saying a president would become non political.

There are 11 standing for the French presidency!

The citizens of the UK need a referendum on this subject

Well, the last referendum held here didn’t exactly leave a harmonious result.

I feel sorry not to be a monarchist any longer. I have enjoyed the soap opera.. When badly educated minor aristocrats , or Boris Johnson and co, are social ignoramuses it's not entirely unexpected they will misbehave.