Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton, are on official duties touring the Caribbean ahead of Queen Elizabeth II‘s upcoming Platinum Jubliee.
The future king and queen of England, who are generally greeted with loud cheers and hugs from locals, face a new reality.
Prince William and his spouse’s trips to Belize and Jamaica are marred with controversies involving race, slavery, and reparations.
And one prominent royal expert and author believes that Meghan Markle should be blamed for the chaos that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are dealing with at the moment.
Jamaican protesters demand apology and reparations, as the country seeks to drop Queen as head of state
Queen Elizabeth’s grandson and Middleton had plans to celebrate the legacy of legendary musician Bob Marley, deliver a passionate speech acknowledging slavery, and engage with the communities of the island of Jamaica.
Instead, the duo is facing heavy backlash with Jamaicans who have taken to the streets with signs and T-shirts that echoed the same sentiment — they demand that Britain apologize and award the country, which is a former colony, some form of slavery reparations.
Kate Middleton and Prince William were not spared when meeting with high-ranking Jamaican officials.
Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, with Prince William standing by his side, announced the nation’s decision to no longer have Queen Elizabeth as head of state as the country celebrates its 60th independence anniversary.
Mr. Holness made his intentions crystal clear by saying: “There are issues here, which, as you know, are unresolved, but your presence gives us an opportunity for those issues to be placed in context, to be out front and center, and to be addressed as best we can. But Jamaica is, as you would see, is a country that is proud of its history and very proud of what we have achieved. And we’re moving on, and we intend to… fulfill our true ambitions and destiny to become an independent, developed, and prosperous country.”
Watching the protests play out from England, royal expert and commentator Dan Wootton pointed the finger at Meghan Markle.
Markle is blamed for disastrous royal tour
In a scathing piece published in the Daily Mail, the royal pundit claimed that Markle’s interview with Oprah Winfrey gave Black people the authorization to voice their anger over colonialism.
He said that Prince Harry‘s wife revealed a series of lies that have led to the embarrassing situation that Middleton and Prince William are now dealing with.
He wrote: “Imagine Prince William’s fury. As his royal tour to Jamaica with Kate is increasingly overshadowed by a toxic row over local calls for reparations to compensate for British colonialism (yawn), it’s the words of his own sister-in-law being weaponized against the Royal Family. In fact, Meghan Markle’s pack of lies to her nodding BFF Oprah Winfrey suggesting the monarchy is a racist institution and casting doubt on its senior members is now providing a significant boost to the fast-moving republican cause in Jamaica at the worst possible moment.”
He added: “This was always the concern of senior courtiers when Meghan’s claim to Oprah about a so-called unnamed ‘royal racist’ who asked about her unborn baby’s skin color went unchallenged: Republicans across the Commonwealth would try to use the claims to bring the Queen’s reign to an end in the monarch’s twilight years. That’s exactly what’s happening – and campaigners are using the media attention around William and Kate’s trip to inflict maximum damage.”
The Duke and Duchess’ disastrous Caribbean visit will end in The Bahamas.
