Prince William told his hosts in the last country on a difficult tour of the Caribbean that the royal family would support them regardless of the decisions they make to retain or replace the Queen as head of state. After several days of criticism, especially from Jamaica and the Jamaicans, of the way the tour was conducted, the Duke of Cambridge delivered a speech in the Bahamas last night. It was the kind of talk about evolving relationships that critics say he should have uttered in the beginning to give a different tone to the tour. The Duke of Cambridge speaks at a reception hosted by the Governor-General of the Bahamas. Credit: PA Prince William did not utter similar words in Jamaica, where the debate over democracy – and the loss of the Queen – is much more lively than in the Bahamas, where he gave the speech. The Bahamas – like Jamaica and Belize before this week-long visit – is a Commonwealth Kingdom in which the Queen remains Sovereign. So on behalf of his grandmother, whom William called the “Queen of the Bahamas,” he said: “With Jamaica celebrating 60 years of independence this year and Belize celebrating 40 years of independence last year, I want to say this: We proudly support and respect your decisions about your future. Relationships are evolving. Friendship endures. “ The Royal Rota: Listen to our latest episode It is an accurate reflection of the Queen’s view of the future constitutional position of her Kingdoms. There are 14 such countries, including Canada and Australia, and it is well known that the Queen respects the decisions they make about how they want to proceed. The Barbados voted to oust the Queen and it became a democracy in November last year with a new President. Prince Charles attended the handover ceremony on November 30th. William also spoke Friday night about his time in the Bahamas as a child, where he went on holiday with his mother. “Snorkeling around the James Bond wrecks off Nassau left me with the most vivid memory of your beautiful blue waters,” he said, adding, “For a young boy obsessed with 007, it was the best vacation.” never”. William and Kate returned to the water off the coast here in a sailing regatta – one of which William’s grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, loved dearly. Kate and William after attending the Platinum Jubilee Sailing Regatta in the Bahamas in Montagu Bay. Credit: PA They did it in a huge rainfall and returned to land completely soaked. The foot of the Bahamas is much calmer than Jamaica that came before. The widely circulated images that appeared to show a wealthy white couple shaking hands with Jamaicans through a wire fence do not reflect the true nature of a visit to a less-favored Kingston area – but the royals were ridiculed online and on social media. What actually happened was that the couple instinctively went to greet the crowds at the perimeter fence around a soccer field where William had just played a game with English star Rahim Sterling. The royal family and Sterling had received huge applause throughout their visit to Trench Town, and William and Kate also joined hands on a traditional street walk a few minutes later. But individually, the image of the fence did not set the tone – in a country frightened by the slavery committed by the former colonial master. Things got worse when the Duke and Duchess decided to represent a moment that the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh had done here on their previous visits. William and Kate in Land Rover were reminiscent of the Queen and Philip in Land Rover. Credit: PA However, activists already sensitive about the royal visit said William and Kate seemed to be honoring a time when Britain still had colonies under its control. The final day of this challenging Caribbean tour will take Prince William and Kate to two other Bahamas islands on Saturday: Abaco and Grand Bahama, where the Duke will meet the winners of his environmental Earthshot Award. Coral Vita grows corals on land to be replanted in the oceans 50 times faster than traditional methods. It will be a good place to end a trip – but you will have to think hard when the Cambridges and their staff return home.
