William and Kate did not receive a "royal" welcome during their March 2022 tour of the
Caribbean, as the royal couple was met with various protests.
So how did the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge respond to the demonstrations?
Keep watching to find out.
The British royal tour occurs when members of the royal family visit countries in the
Commonwealth, which recognize the British monarchy as their heads of state.
Kate Middleton and Prince William's son, Prince George, made his debut on a royal tour in
Australia and New Zealand at just 9 months old.
This was especially notable as it was also where Prince William had his first royal tour.
In March of 2022, Prince William and Kate went on a new tour in the Caribbean, in honor
of the queen's Platinum Jubilee.
The royal couple's eight-day trip included stops in Belize, Jamaica, and the Bahamas.
However, things didn't go all that smoothly.
The tour got rocky right off the bat with a change in venue during their first stop
in Belize.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were originally scheduled to visit a Mayan cacao farm in the
Indian Creek village, but locals protested the potential visit.
Prince William is a patron of the conservation nonprofit Flora and Fauna International, which
purchased an adjoining parcel of land that villagers feel should be under indigenous
control.
Even though the royals' schedule was changed to accommodate the slight hiccup, things still
got a little messy overseas.
After three nights in Belize, Prince William and Kate Middleton headed to Jamaica.
However, a planned demonstration to call for slavery reparations in Jamaica's capital city
of Kingston awaited them.
In addition to the protest, Jamaican leaders and political figures have signed an open
letter to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
"Speak some truth on this trip.
Speak truth for what it's worth."
The letter states that Jamaicans wish to celebrate their 60th year of independence in lieu of
the queen's Platinum Jubilee.
It also points to Kate and William as a future ruling couple with the power to make a difference.
A co-organizer of the event, Nora Blake, told the Independent why Jamaicans' demands for
slavery reparations are necessary:
"It is important as we turn 60 years old as an independent nation that we stand as 'adults'
on solid ethical, moral and human justice grounds to say to Britain, who was once our
'parent,' that you have done wrong in enriching yourselves off of chattel slavery and colonialism."
Prince William and Kate Middleton's royal tour was called a "charm offensive" by some,
accordng to The Guardian, to try and stop other Caribbean countries from following Barbados
in becoming a republic.
As of March 2022, Jamaica, Belize, and the Bahamas are all Commonwealth Realms, making
them independent countries but with the Queen as the head of state.
Barbados had also been a Commonwealth Realm.
However, in a significant historical moment, they became a republic and swore in their
first president at a ceremony in November 2021.
It had been four decades since a Caribbean country severed ties with the Queen to become
a republic.
Guyana did it in 1970, Trinidad and Tobago in 1976, and Dominica in 1978.
There has been discussion in Jamaica in recent years about becoming an independent republic,
but there has yet to be a referendum on the issue.
Mike Henry, a Jamaican lawmaker who has been vocal about requesting reparations, told the
Associated Press the first step would be an apology since an apology admits that "there
is some guilt."
Henry has estimated the amount of reparations at over 7 billion pounds.
"I'm here today, calling for a better Jamaica."
Prince Charles addressed the issue of slavery in the Caribbean at the independence ceremony
of Barbados, though not with a specific apology.
In his speech, he said,
"From the darkest days of our past, and the appalling atrocity of slavery, which forever
stains our history, the people of this island forged their path with extraordinary fortitude."
The publication also noted that never before had anyone from the royal family so forthrightly
discussed slavery while in the Caribbean.
As of March 2022, there is yet to be a formal response from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge
over the Jamaican protest.
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