Just a few days after The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited the Caribbean country, Belize has reportedly taken the first step to remove Queen Elizabeth II, 95, as its head of the state in order to become a republic. As part of their 8-day visit to the Caribbean, Prince William, 39, and Kate Middleton, 40, first visited Belize before Jamaica and the Bahamas in the final leg of their tour, which ended last week.
This move, as The Independent writes, follows protests which took place during the couple’s visit to the Central American country following conflict about the “colonial legacy of theft.” Debates also took place around land rights between local indigenous residents and Flora and Fauna International, the conservation charity the Duke supports as patron.
| The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge have arrived in Belize on the first day of their Royal Tour of the Carribean in honor of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubliee.#RoyalTourCaribbean pic.twitter.com/73PKXixIaY
— 【 ᴇʟɪsᴀᴠᴇᴛ 】 (@cambridgeroyall) March 19, 2022
The government of Belize has since confirmed that a new body, the People’s Constitutional Commission, will be consulting across the country on the issue of continuing the “decolonization process.” Henry Charles Usher, who is Belize’s minister for constitutional and political reform, reportedly told the country’s parliament last week, “Madame Speaker, the decolonization process is enveloping the Caribbean region. Perhaps it is time for Belize to take the next step in truly owning our independence. But it is a matter that the people of Belize must decide on.”
#royal #flashback “Queen Elizabeth II, Belize, Arrival at Belize International Airport, 9th October 1985. pic.twitter.com/1GFUIJooX7
— Mace (@RoyaleVision) October 9, 2020
Discussions of post-colonial futures in Belize as well as the other nations William and Kate visited on their tour (notably Jamaica), continue to trend on Twitter, where users frequently have heated debates regarding the royal family and Britain’s history of colonization.
