Prince Edward and Sophie.Photo: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images
Prince Edwardand Sophie, Countess of Wessex’s Caribbean tour continues to draw backlash.
Queen Elizabeth’s youngest child and daughter-in-law visited Antigua and Barbuda on Monday as part of a week-long tour of the Caribbean to mark the monarch’s Platinum Jubilee. During a meeting with Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne and his cabinet, Browne told the royal couple that his country intends to become a republic in the future although there were no immediate plans to do so. He also urged them to use their “diplomatic influence” to achieve “reparatory justice” for the island country.
Browne said he understood that the royal family did not want to involve themselves in “contentious issues,” but asked them to “understand these issues… use your diplomatic influence in achieving the reparatory justice that we seek.”
“The reality is we have been left and bereft of modern institutions such as universities and medicinal facilities,” he added.
Prince WilliamandKate Middletonalso experiencedsignificant backlashduring their tour of the Caribbean last month as the rising tide of social and economic justice movements — including calls for slavery reparations and indigenous rights expansion — are rapidly reshaping contemporary views of the monarchy.
Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Prince Edward.Stuart C. Wilson/Getty
The Antigua and Barbuda Reparations Support Commission shared an open letter renewing calls for an apology for the role Britain played in the transatlantic slave trade ahead of Prince Edward and Sophie’s arrival in the country on Monday.
“It has become common for members of the royal family and representatives of the government of Britain to come to this region and lament that slavery was an ‘appalling atrocity,’ that it was ‘abhorrent,’ that ‘it should not have happened,’ " the open letter stated. “We have heard such from your former Prime Minister David Cameron and most recently from your brother, the Prince of Wales, and your nephew,Prince William, but such sentiments did not convey new knowledge to us.”
Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua & Barbuda meets Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Prince Edward.Stuart C. Wilson/Getty
The letter noted that the British royal family continues to “live in splendour, pomp and wealth attained through the proceeds of the crimes.”
“We know that the British Crown, both as royal family and as institution, is historically documented as an active participant in the largest crimes against humanity of all time,” it said.
Sophie and Prince Edward.Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images
The letter called for the U.K. and the other countries of Europe to partner in a constructive strategy “to meet the social and economic development gaps in the region, those imposed through slavery and colonialism and those that are perpetuated through the incredibly unjust existing neocolonial international order which Europe and the United States champions.”
Edward and Sophie also faced criticism after their visit to St. Lucia on Friday, where they met with the country’s Prime Minister Philip Pierre. In a traditional gift exchange, Pierre presented Prince Edward and Sophie with a watercolor painting depicting a sea turtle.
Prince Edward and Sophie gifted Pierre with a framed photo of themselves, which they had signed. Although it’s commonplace for royals to present signed photos while on foreign tours, the royal couple’s gift was criticized on social media for being tone-deaf amid a royal tour that is being met with protests and calls for slavery reparations.
Prince Edward and Sophie will visit several countries during their tour. However, it was announced just one day ahead of their departure for the tour thatGrenada was removed from the schedule.
“In consultation with the Government of Grenada and on the advice of the Governor General, The Earl and Countess of Wessex’s visit to Grenada has been postponed,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement. “The Earl and Countess hope to visit at a later date.”
There is speculation that Prince Edward and Sophie only planned to visit Grenada for a few hours, and the country didn’t feel the short visit was worth their resources and taxpayer money — but it comes at a time when a number of Caribbean countries are re-examining their relationship with the monarchy.
Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Antigua and Barbuda are all part of the Commonwealth of Nations, made up of 54 countries. They are all also Commonwealth realms, meaning they haveQueen Elizabethas their monarch and head of state.
Protests in Jamaica on March 22, 2022 as Prince William and Kate Middleton tour the Caribbean.RICARDO MAKYN/AFP via Getty Images
However, many Commonwealth countries have expressed interest in becoming independent republics with their own heads of state. Barbados was themost recent realm to become a republicin 2021, with Sandra Mason — who previously served as governor-general — as president. The Queen sent a note of congratulations to Barbados' new president, whilePrince Charlesattended the ceremony that removed her as head of state.
Jamaica is also making movesto drop the Queen as head of state.
Prince William and Kate Middleton in Jamaica on March 24.Karwai Tang/WireImage
Prince William released an unprecedented statementbefore leaving The Bahamas reflecting on the future governance of the Caribbean nations.
source: people.com
