Backlash for latest royal couple

The latest Royal tour of the Caribbean was just as controversial as before.

Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex’s tour drew more backlash. Queen Elizabeth’s youngest child and daughter-in-law visited Antigua and Barbuda on Monday as part of a week-long tour of the Caribbean to mark the monarch’s Platinum Jubilee. During a meeting with Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne and his cabinet, Browne told the royal couple that his country intends to become a republic in the future although there were no immediate plans to do so. He also urged them to use their “diplomatic influence” to achieve “reparatory justice” for the island country.

Browne said he understood that the royal family did not want to involve themselves in “contentious issues,” but asked them to “understand these issues... use your diplomatic influence in achieving the reparatory justice that we seek.”

“The reality is we have been left and bereft of modern institutions such as universities and medicinal facilities,” he added.

Prince William and Kate Middleton also faced backlash during their tour of the Caribbean in March as the rising tide of social and economic justice movements — including calls for slavery reparations and indigenous rights expansion — are rapidly reshaping contemporary views of the monarchy.

The Antigua and Barbuda Reparations Support Commission shared an open letter renewing calls for an apology for the role Britain played in the transatlantic slave trade ahead of Prince Edward and Sophie’s arrival there.

The letter noted that the British royal family continues to “live in splendour, pomp and wealth attained through the proceeds of the crimes.”

“We know that the British Crown, both as royal family and as institution, is historically documented as an active participant in the largest crimes against humanity of all time,” it said.

The letter called for the UK and the other countries of Europe to partner in a constructive strategy “to meet the social and economic development gaps in the region, those imposed through slavery and colonialism”.

Edward and Sophie also faced criticism after their visit to St Lucia on Friday, where they met with the country’s Prime Minister Philip Pierre. In a traditional gift exchange, Pierre presented Prince Edward and Sophie with a water colour painting depicting a sea turtle.

Prince Edward and Sophie gifted Pierre with a framed photo of themselves, which they had signed. Although it’s commonplace for royals to present signed photos while on foreign tours, their gift was criticised on social media for being tone-deaf amid a royal tour that is being met with protests and calls for slavery reparations.