The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are set to launch a royal charm offensive on their first joint visit to Jamaica later this month, and insiders are hoping Kate Middleton will be a key player in convincing the country to stay in the Commonwealth.
William, 39, and Kate, 40, will visit the Caribbean as part of a tour of Jamaica, the Bahamas and Belize – countries that are still Commonwealth states.
In November, Barbados moved towards becoming a republic, losing the queen as official head of state, and the Jamaican prime minister confirmed that his own country would now seek to follow suit.
Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica, said just days after the official independence ceremony in Barbados, “There is no doubt that Jamaica should become a republic.”
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Secret weapon? The Duchess of Cambridge could play a key role in encouraging Jamaica to stay in the Commonwealth, which has expressed its desire to become a republic (pictured March 1 at the Blanavon Heritage Center in Wales).
The royal tour of Jamaica, Belize and the Bahamas later this month is the couple’s first official overseas trip since the start of the pandemic (the couple on an overseas tour of the Solomon Islands in 2012).
However, the Cambridges’ first major overseas tour together since pre-pandemic, coinciding with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, could convince the country otherwise.
The visit of Kate and William – the future King and Queen of England – could bolster the monarchy’s decisive support for the region.
In November, Prince Charles visited Barbados for a ceremony marking his historic decision to oust the Queen as head of state.
Other Commonwealth countries in the region, including Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Dominica, already have their own heads of state.
Last year, John Briceno, Belize’s prime minister, did not rule out his country following Barbados, saying, “We need to find what works best for Belize.”
The last high-profile royal visit to Belize, as well as the Bahamas and Jamaica, was made by Prince Harry in 2012 to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will visit the Caribbean next month to rally support for the monarchy in the year of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Pictured is the couple in London in December
He attended a street party, tasted local rum, opened a road renamed after his grandmother, and raced with Usain Bolt.
Ten years later, with both Prince Harry and Prince Andrew stepping down from royal duties, far fewer family members are able to perform official duties on behalf of the 95-year-old Queen.
“That leaves more work for the Cambridges, Charles and Camilla,” a Palace insider said.
Another royal source claimed that William and Kate shared the institution’s view that only Jamaica should decide its own future.
“The focus is on the Platinum Jubilee and the aim of the tour is to thank the people of every country for the support they have shown the Queen.”
Former Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller, in her inaugural address in 2012, vowed to remove the Queen as head of state, stating: “I love the Queen, she is a beautiful woman. But I think the time has come.
Shortly after this announcement, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office sent Prince Harry on a tour of Belize, the Bahamas, Jamaica and Brazil.
In November, Prince Charles visited Barbados (above) for a ceremony marking his historic decision to remove the Queen as head of state.
Before meeting Prince Harry, Simpson-Miller offered the UK an apology and compensation for the “evil and cruel” years of slavery, reaffirming its determination to “take full responsibility for our destiny” and remove his grandmother as head of state.
However, Harry chose to greet her with hugs, kisses and a diplomatic gesture in front of a photo of the smiling queen.
The Republican movement is not new in Jamaica, and the Cambridges trip could include meeting new Prime Minister Holness, 49, along with other activities such as “honouring Bob Marley” and watching the Jamaican Defense Force in action.
In fact, there was an online petition calling for a postponement of the Cambridge visit, but it only garnered a measly 817 signatures.
Professor Philip Murphy, director of the Institute for Commonwealth Studies at the University of London, told The Sunday Times: “Jamaica is something to look at.
“Political will is strong, and the issue of reparations for colonialism and slavery adds moral weight to the Republican cause.”
However, after decades of promises from governments and polls suggesting that half of Jamaicans support a republic, the movement has not gained momentum.
The Governor General of Jamaica, Sir Patrick Allex, said in 2020 that he would no longer wear the royal insignia of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George after it sparked controversy – it depicts a white archangel with his foot on Satan’s neck, which is depicted blacks.
Tellingly, Barbados did not need a referendum to remove the Queen from office, and Prime Minister Mia Mottley used her large majority to get it done.
Jamaican journalist and founder of the 18 Degrees North newsletter, Zahra Burton, 42, suggested that the queen represented “stability” that Jamaicans are “ready to overcome.”
She points out that the decision will depend on the people and the political will, which people are not “too concerned about”.
All eight remaining Caribbean kingdoms are Belize, Jamaica, Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
The success of the Cambridges’ mission may determine whether they will reign as King and Queen of Jamaica, which gained independence from Britain in 1962.
Buckingham Palace’s official line has not changed: “The question of the head of state of Jamaica is entirely up to the government and people of Jamaica.”