As Kate Middleton and Prince William tour Jamaica on behalf of Queen Elizabeth, the island’s government has begun the process of removing the queen as head of state.
The Independent reports a senior government official has been tasked with the primary aim of seeing the nation transition to republic status.
“The government has had to start the process; the road to becoming a republic is not an easy one but they have long been coming under significant pressure to do it,” an official told the Independent.
The news of Jamaica separating from the UK came while Middleton and William continued their Caribbean tour of Belize, Jamaica, and the Bahamas as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Tour. During their visit to Belize and Jamaica, the pair was met with “anti-colonialism” demonstrations and protests, and calls for reparations.
The Duke and Duchess arrived in the capital of Kingston Tuesday where at least 350 protestors demanded reparations and apologies from the crown for slavery outside the British High Commission.
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
“Kate and William are beneficiaries, so they are, in fact, complicit because they are positioned to benefit specifically from our ancestors, and we’re not benefitting from our ancestors,” protestor Opal Adisa told the Independent.
“The luxury and the lifestyle that they have had and that they continue to have, traipsing all over the world for free with no expense, that is a result of my great, great grandmother and grandfather, their blood and tears and sweat.”
As the Caribbean hotspot celebrates its 60th anniversary, a large coalition of politicians, doctors, musicians, and celebrities continued their calls for an official apology and reparations for slavery in an open letter to Prince William and Middleton that was given to the British High Commission.
The British Colony controlled Jamaica from 1707 until 1962, when the country gained its independence. However, according to World Population Review, the country is still one of the poorest in the world.
Jamaica’s economy is unstable, weakened by high debt and inflation rates, and spends about half of its income on imported goods, including gas and food.