At the end of William and Kate’s tour to a number of Commonwealth countries in the Caribbean that had the objective of marking and celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, things quickly unravelled into discussions of colonialism, slavery, reparations and open declarations of intention by Belize, The Bahamas and Jamaica to replace the Queen as their Head of State and become republics after being spurred on by the change in Barbados last November. Some even talk of leaving the Commonwealth. Heady stuff. After the departure of the next heir, St Lucia and St Vincent and The Grenadines quickly followed suit. Their are varying reports of how the tour was received following several unfortunate photo shots and the re-enactment of the Queen’s trip in a vintage jeep that reeked of colonialism down to the white lace dress and hat worn by Kate (along with all the rest of the often-changed couture clobber). William’s heavily gilded and decorated uniform merely looked out of place and out of time.
This is the trailing edge of Meghan Markle’s influence since joining the British monarchy formally in mid 2018 – and increasing public awareness of the history of slavery and how the wealth of the English Queen is built upon the colonialism of her forebears – but it is surprisingl that things have changed so quickly. The BLM movement also continues to resonate.
This article (click on link) from The Guardian covers all the bases with that photo. [“”Perfect Storm’: royals misjudged Caribbean tour, say critics” by Amelia Hall and Rachel Gentleman, The Guardian online, 26 March 2022]
