The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge‘s visit to Jamaica this week has been nothing short of eventful and controversial. Now, the island nation wants to cut major ties with Queen Elizabeth II, 95, as this news continues to trend across social media.
As reported by Harper’s Bazaar, Jamaica is planning to remove the queen as its head of state after Prince William, 39, and Kate Middleton, 40, depart from the country. As Bazaar writes, this comes amid the Cambridges’ royal tour, which palace sources have described as a “charm offensive” to win over people of the Caribbean, where the queen remains the reigning monarch of eight countries.
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Jamaican citizens have staged protests in the capital city of Kingston, and continue to call out the long British history of colonialism, racism and role in slave trades while the couple tours the Caribbean. Sources in the Parliament of Jamaica revealed that the government is “starting the process of becoming a republic—with a completion goal of August 6,” the date of its 60th Independence Day.
HAPPENING NOW:
Scores of Jamaicans turned up at the British High Commission in St Andrew this morning to protest the Royal visit of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The protestors are calling for the Royal family to apologise for slavery and pay reparations. pic.twitter.com/fsRngGi3zU— Jamaica Observer (@JamaicaObserver) March 22, 2022
“It’s a long and arduous process, but having already put the wheels in motion, it will be full steam ahead in the coming weeks and months,” a senior government official told BAZAAR. According to a second political insider, although there has been “some pushback” from certain parliament members, it is not the majority. Both sources also reportedly told the publication that there are no plans for a referendum.
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According to The Independent, “a coalition of Jamaican politicians, business leaders, doctors and musicians” are pressing for the nation to sever ties with the monarchy formally, and change its status from a constitutional monarchy to a republic. The coalition also sent an open letter to The Cambridges, in which 100 politicians, business leaders, academics, and doctors signed the message, encouraging them to apologize on behalf of the royal family for their historical role in the slave trade.
On Feb. 17, New York Amsterdam News named former Jamaican Attorney General Marlene Malahoo Forte as the leader in the country’s procedural path “to shift Jamaica’s status as a constitutional monarchy.” The royal couple are set to depart Jamaica and head to the Bahamas this Thursday.
