Local protests forced the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to cancel a trip to a Belizean village that was supposed to be the start of their Caribbean tour after locals protested against it.
Opposition to the royal tour arose from a dispute between residents of the Toledo area and Flora and Fauna International, a conservation charity whose patron is Prince William.
He and Kate were expected to visit the Akte’il Ha cocoa farm in Indian Creek on the first full day of their offensive in the region, but their office called off the engagement on Friday.
This happens when they tour Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas, which is seen as an attempt to gain the support of the monarchy and convince other countries not to follow Barbados by choosing to become a republic.
William and Kate’s helicopter landing site in Belize – a local soccer field – has caused further trouble for residents who say they were not consulted about the matter.
Local broadcaster Channel 7 described tensions between citizens and the state as “the meaning of consent in the context of communal land rights, rights to lands that were struck out during the colonial period by the British”.
Indian Creek village chairman Sebastian Scholl told the Daily Mail: “We don’t want them to land on our land, that’s the message we want to send.
“They could have landed anywhere but on our soil.”
A Kensington Palace spokesman said: “We can confirm that due to sensitive issues surrounding the Indian Creek community, the visit has been rescheduled elsewhere. More details will be provided in due course.”
A Belize government statement said: “Indian Creek was one of several sites under consideration. Due to problems in the village, the Belize government stepped up contingency planning and another site was chosen to showcase Mayan family entrepreneurship in the cocoa industry.”
The pair are due to land in Belize on Saturday afternoon on a Voyager ministerial plane. The country’s governor-general, Froila Tsalam, will greet the couple along with an entourage of 15, including a hairdresser, private secretaries and a press team, before they travel to Belize City to meet Prime Minister Johnny Bricegno.
Windrush campaigners and Caribbean pundits criticized the tour, saying the UK should be actively helping countries break ties with the monarchy rather than persuading them to stay.
“The UK still has key legal and economic ties that make it difficult for a country like Jamaica to be truly independent,” said author and Windrush campaigner Patrick Vernon.
“This year is an opportunity for people to think: do we want to be a republic and what does that mean? If Jamaica decided that this was the case, then there would be a domino effect for the rest of the English-speaking Caribbean.”