King Charles reportedly had an urgent phone call with Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were photographed with him in Kingston last year. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were all smiles in January 2024 when they attended the One Love film premiere.
The couple were believed to have been invited by their good friend and neighbour Brian Robbins, Paramount CEO, and his wife Tracy James. However, this wasn’t known straight away. Instead, it was feared that the couple had been invited by Jamaica’s Prime Minister, who was photographed with the couple at the event. This, according to Theresa Roberts, Jamaica’s Ambassador/Special Investment Envoy for Culture and Arts in the United Kingdom, sparked panic within the Firm.
As reported by GB News, Roberts told the Mail that Jamaica’s PM was worried that the photograph could be seen as a political statement, with Mr Holness wanting to quickly make contact with the King to explain the situation.
Roberts said: “The government were really annoyed about the premiere. They [Meghan and Harry] were invited to attend, but not by the prime minister. He became the centre of attention because it was said that he was ‘cosying up’ with Meghan and Harry.
“That wasn’t the truth. Somehow, they were photographed with the prime minister and he couldn’t believe how much stick he got about being with Harry when he didn’t invite them. The prime minister doesn’t want to be [involved in] royal politics abroad.
“He wants to focus on business at home and didn’t realise there was going to be a backlash.”
She continued: “We all had to try to make it known to Charles that it was not the case that the prime minister was cosying up to Harry.
“He did say he didn’t expect to be caught up in that thing because he had nothing to do with it.”
The King, 76, is head of state in Jamaica.