A royal expert has weighed in on Harry’s recent trip to Jamaica, a Commonwealth country that previously made headlines when its prime minister notably “embarrassed” Prince William and Princess Kate.
Speaking to GB News, Charles Ray, former Royal correspondent for The Sun, criticised the timing of Harry’s visit amid discussions in Jamaica about potentially leaving the Commonwealth.
Ray remarked: “The point about Jamaica is it’s a bit of a controversial matter at the moment. The country is discussing splitting away from the Commonwealth.
“There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s entirely up to them, like other countries have done. But they have retained links [to the Commonwealth].”
He continued, highlighting the awkwardness of the situation: “Now, Harry turned up in Jamaica and had a chat with the Prime Minister who clearly embarrassed his brother when he visited there.
“I don’t think it was a good idea.
“And there was an ulterior motive from Harry. They went down on a Paramount jet, they were with Paramount executives. So there’s obviously something else going on there they want to develop.”
The Caribbean tour of Prince William and Princess Kate in 2022, intended to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and present a modern image of the Royal Family to the islands, was dubbed by many as the “perfect storm”.
Critics argue that the visit only served to hasten the desire of numerous Caribbean nations to sever ties with the Commonwealth and the Royal Family, viewed by many as remnants of Britain’s colonial history.
Upon their arrival in Belize, the couple faced protests from villagers over a land dispute involving a charity of which William is a patron.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holmes also informed the royal pair that Jamaica would be transitioning into a republic.
A government committee in the Bahamas subsequently called on the royals to issue “a full and formal apology for their crimes against humanity” concerning the slave trade.
Historical documents, some disclosed by King Charles, imply the Royal Family’s involvement in the day-to-day operations of the slave trade.
Camilla de Koning, a PhD student at the University of Manchester, discovered substantial evidence linking the Firm to the colonial slave trade in the National Archives of Britain.
Prince Harry stands out as potentially the sole Royal Family member to have explicitly discussed the institution’s ties to slavery.
In his explosive autobiography ‘Spare’, he conceded that the monarchy’s affluence was amassed through “exploited workers and thuggery, annexation and enslaved people.”
In a historic move last year, Charles indicated the first clear endorsement by a British monarch for probing into the Royal lineage’s connections with the transatlantic slave trade.
