Prince William speech—the future King breaks silence on critics who claim royal tour is nothing more than ‘tone deaf PR and colonialism’

The Duke of Cambridge has addressed ongoing controversy surrounding the royal family’s recent Caribbean tour in an empowering speech which gives a nod to colonialism.

• Prince William and Kate Middleton’s royal tour has raised eyebrows and sparked debate.
• The future King said the royal family ‘respect the decisions’ of countries with regards to their future and promise ‘friendship endures’ amid colonialism row.
• In other royal news, here's how Kate Middleton juggled motherhood with royal duties on Caribbean tour.

Days after it was claimed Prince William and Kate Middleton were "not welcome" in Jamaica, Prince William has finally addressed the controversial nature of their most recent royal tour, amid ongoing rows surrounding colonialism.

With suggestions that Jamaica, Belize, and The Bahamas could choose to distance themselves from the British monarchy and become republics, the Future King said any such decision would be respected.

In a powerful speech given at a dinner hosted by the Governor-General Sir Cornelius Smith, Prince William said, “Next year, I know you are all looking forward to celebrating fifty years of independence—your Golden Anniversary.

“And with Jamaica celebrating 60 years of independence this year, and Belize celebrating 40 years of independence last year, I want to say this: We support with pride and respect your decisions about your future.

“Relationships evolve. Friendship endures.”

His comments come after days of criticism on how “out of touch” the couples’ tour had come across, with some royal watchers branding some of the images a “white-savior parody”.

Omid Scobie, co-author of Meghan Markle’s biography, Finding Freedom, said, “‘This tour was an opportunity to try to show the monarchy can modernize—hold themselves accountable where appropriate, be eager to listen and learn, mindful, open to change.

“Instead, even the media royalists are writing how out of touch parts of the trip have come across.”

While most people welcome the royal family with open arms, one of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s first stops in Belize had to be scrapped following protests on the ground. 

Prince William and Kate Middleton were due to visit Akte’iL Ha cacao farm, nestled at the bottom of the Maya mountains, but villagers from Indian Creek—home to less than 1,000 people, decided against the royal visit.

Locals felt the way the visit had been planned without their consent raised issues of “colonialism”.

He said, “For us, it really hits right at home because of the treatment. The organizer said we had to let them use the football field and that people were coming to our village and it had to look good.

“But they didn’t want to divulge who. Eventually, somebody said it was Prince William coming to our village. That’s where the first issue arose. These are high-profile people, we respect them, but they also have to be giving respect to the community leaders. Giving community leaders commands did not sit well with the community.”