Due to protests, British Prince William (39) and his wife Duchess Kate (40) had to abandon their trip to the Caribbean right at the start. The scheduled visit to a cocoa plantation in Belize, Central America, was “relocated to another location” because of “sensitive concerns relating to the community in Indian Creek,” Kensington Palace stated on Saturday.
Residents of the community protested on Friday against the planned visit on Saturday, according to media sources. People holding posters that read, among other things, “Prince William, leave our nation” were photographed. The protest was apparently in response to the fact that a cocoa farm with ties to Flora and Fauna International (FFI) had been chosen for the visit.
There is a land dispute between William’s conservation group and the indigenous inhabitants in the area. “You have to recognize that this is a relic of the colonial period,” Mayor Mateo Chub told Channel 5. According to reports, there was also resentment that the Royals’ helicopter landed on a nearby soccer field without asking the neighborhood.
William and Kate have been touring through Central America and the Caribbean on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II (95) on the occasion of her 70th reign anniversary since Saturday. The couple’s scheduled Saturday excursion to a cocoa estate in Belize would have been one of the first stops on their eight-day trip, which also includes stops in the Bahamas and Jamaica. Barbados, a Caribbean island nation, achieved independence from the British monarchy about four months ago.