Prince William and Kate Middleton's royal Caribbean tour halted by protestors

Prince William and Kate, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
(Image credit: PA)
By Georgia Farquharson
published

Prince William and Kate Middleton’s latest royal tour has got off to a "rocky start" after the Duke and Duchess were forced to cancel their first visit amid a row over "colonialism".

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have been forced to change their plans after protestors claimed their royal tour of the Caribbean is nothing more than a "slap in the face" and "colonialism".

Kate Middleton and Prince William have left their three children at home, as the couple prepare to embark on a week-long tour of Belize, Jamaica, and the Bahamas, but their first engagement has been scrapped after locals staged a protest.

Keen to enjoy some child-free time during this work trip, Prince William and Kate Middleton were due to visit Akte'iL Ha cacao farm, nestled at the bottom of the Maya mountains, but villagers from Indian Creek—home to less than 1,000 people, decided against the royal visit.

According to the Daily Mail, the locals said they had not been consulted about the royal visit and held a community meeting to discuss plans for the Duke and Duchess' helicopter to land on their land.

See more

Sebastian Shol, chairman of the village, told the Daily Mail, "We don't want them to land on our land, that's the message that we want to send. They could land anywhere but not on our land."

Another local, Dionisio Shol, revealed the way the visit had been planned without their consent raised issues of "colonialism".

He said, "For us it really hits right at home because of the treatment. The organiser said we had to let them use the football field and that people were coming to our village and it had to look good.

"But they didn't want to divulge who. Eventually somebody said it was Prince William coming to our village. That's where the first issue arose. These are high-profile people, we respect them, but they also have to be giving respect to the community leaders. Giving community leaders commands did not sit well with the community."

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge attend the EE British Academy Film Awards at Royal Albert Hall on February 10, 2019 in London, England.

Credit: Getty

The villagers have been in conflict with Flora and Fauna International—a charity which owns and runs an adjoining property for years—over communal land rights. Prince William has been patron of FFI for a number of years.

An official statement from the Belsize government confirmed the couple will no longer be visiting Indian Creek village and alternative plans were being arranged.

"Indian Creek was one of several sites being considered," a spokesperson told the Daily Mail.

"Due to issues in the village, the Government of Belize activated its contingency planning and another venue has been selected to showcase Maya family entrepreneurship in the cacao industry."

Georgia Farquharson
Celebrity writer

Georgia is a Celebrity and Royal Writer working across GoodTo and Woman & Home, and the Director and Founder of communications company Farq Media. Prior to this she was Online Editor at New! Magazine – managing all of their digital content and social media accounts. Where she interviewed all of the hottest reality TV stars and spent far too much time commuting to London. She trained at Nottingham Trent University – where she achieved First Class Honours in Print Journalism whilst juggling copious amounts of work experience, freelance writing, blogging and having far too much fun with the dance society. 

Latest