Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Aug 04, 2025

Jamaica’s PM tells Kate and William his country is ‘moving on’

Royal couple’s visit met with growing republican sentiment and pressure for reparations over slavery

Jamaica’s prime minister has told the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge that his country is “moving on” and intends to become a republic.

The royals’ arrival in Jamaica on Tuesday coincided with a much-publicised demonstration urging the monarchy to pay reparations for slavery, and calls from politicians for the country to become a republic.

The couple’s visit to Jamaica has given the nation the opportunity to address “unresolved” issues, the prime minister, Andrew Holness, told them. During an official welcome, Holness said: “There are issues here which are, as you would know, unresolved but your presence gives an opportunity for those issues to be placed in context, put front and centre and to be addressed in as best [a way] as we can.

“Jamaica is as you would see a country that is very proud of our history and very proud of what we have achieved. We are moving on and we intend to attain in short order … our goals and fulfil our true ambitions as an independent, developed, prosperous country.”

After the decision by Barbados to remove the Queen as head of state, Holness said last December that “there is no question that Jamaica has to become a republic”. There has been bipartisan support for the move for years and the campaign to change Jamaica’s status is increasingly a mainstream position.

Amid reports that a senior official has already been appointed to oversee the transition to a republic, polling experts say Jamaican public opinion has moved steadily in favour of becoming a republic over the past decade, fuelled by increasing discussion of the negative legacy of colonialism and by interest in the Black Lives Matter movement.

Lisa Hanna, Jamaican’s opposition spokesperson on foreign affairs, said the last three years had led to a generation of Caribbean people who are “more self reflective, more socially conscious”, and the Windrush scandal was contributing to this. Watching how “our grandparents and great-grandparents” were being treated “gave us a sense of questioning and reckoning”, Hanna said. “It’s time we look at how we’ve given so much of ourselves to Great Britain.”

Political pollster Don Anderson said only around 40% of Jamaicans supported separation from the monarchy in 2011, but in 2020 this had increased to 62%. “I’d be surprised if that number isn’t closer now to 70%, because of the increased calls for Jamaica to follow Barbados in becoming a republic,” he said. “There has also been an increased awareness of the atrocities of colonialism. I don’t think it was on people’s radar in the same way 10 years ago. I believe the government will be forced to respond to this very soon.”

Campaigners this week published a document listing 60 reasons why the British government and royals should apologise to the Jamaican people and offer reparations, citing human trafficking and the transatlantic slave trade and the destruction of Jamaica’s natural environment by establishing a plantation system.

Demonstrations greeted William and Kate in Kingston, Jamaica, demanding the monarchy apologise for its role in the slave trade.


An open letter addressed to Prince William and Kate, signed by 100 campaigners, which was delivered to the British high commission on Tuesday, noted that the Queen had “done nothing to redress or atone for the suffering of our ancestors that took place during her reign and during the entire period of British trafficking of Africans, enslavement and colonisation”.

“You, who may one day lead the British monarchy, are direct beneficiaries of the wealth accumulated by the royal family over centuries, including that stemming from the trafficking and enslavement of Africans,” the letter said. “We urge you to start with an apology and recognition of the need for atonement and reparations.”

Economics professor Rosalea Hamilton, who drafted the letter, said the royal visit was inadvertently “fast-tracking” the campaign to move to a republic. If Prince William failed to apologise and discuss reparations during the visit, the campaign would “surge ahead” and the move to a republic would become an inevitability, she said.

Lawyer Jennifer Housen said people in Jamaica were increasingly wondering what the benefit was of continued ties with the UK, given that the UK requires Jamaican nationals to apply for visas before visiting (and makes these visas hard to secure) and that economic links were no longer significant. “How special are we when our nationals need a visa even to come to Britain? People feel the relationship is pointless.”

The parallel campaign for payment of reparations for slavery from the British government has intensified in the past year. Culture minister Olivia Grange said this week: “Reparations will happen. It is about regaining our respect. It has to do with our dignity. It has to do with ensuring that the injustices that were meted out to our enslaved ancestors are corrected. We are on a mission, we have to achieve that goal.”

Earlier this year, the Jamaican prime minister established a new ministry responsible for constitutional reform, having previously directed then attorney general Marlene Malahoo Forte to research the removal of the Queen as head of state.

Philip Murphy, an expert on Commonwealth history and author of Monarchy and the End of Empire, said the royal family’s decision to visit Jamaica was having the unintended consequence of strengthening campaigns for Jamaica to drop its ties with the British monarchy. “Campaigners might not have got that kind of international attention without the presence of William and Kate. We seem to be reaching a tipping point where events that are clearly choreographed by the British government as a sort of charm offensive, banging the drum for global Britain, become a kind of shitstorm of controversy,” he said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
Declassified Annex Links Soros‑Affiliated Officials and Clinton Campaign to ‘Russiagate’ Narrative
UK's Online Safety Law: A Front for Censorship
Nationwide Protests Erupt in Brazil Demanding Presidential Resignation
Parents Abandon Child at Barcelona Airport Over Passport Issue
Mystery Surrounds Death of Brazilian Woman with iPhones Glued to Her Body
Bus Driver Discovers Toddler Hidden in Suitcase in New Zealand
Switzerland Celebrates 734 Years of Independence Amid Global Changes
U.S. Opens Official Investigation into Former Trump Prosecutor Jack Smith
Leaked audio of Canada's new PM Mark Carney admitting the truth about the Net Zero agenda: "We're gonna make a lot of money off of this."
China Enforces Comprehensive Ban on Cryptocurrency Activities
Absolutely 100% Realistic EVO Series Doll by EXDOLL (Chinese Company) used mainly for carnal purposes
World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab: "In this new world, we must accept... total transparency. You have to get used to it. You have to behave accordingly. But if you have nothing to hide, you shouldn't be afraid."
Meet Mufti Hamid Patel, head of Office for Standards in Education in Pakistan
George Soros tells the World Economic Forum: "President Trump is a con man and the ultimate narcissist, who wants the world to revolve around him."
Hamas are STARVING the hostages.
Decline in Tourism in Majorca Amidst Ongoing Anti-Tourism Protests
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
Poland Begins Excavation at Dziemiany After New Clue to World War II‑Era Nazi Treasure
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Threatens Canada with Tariffs Over Palestinian State Recognition
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Trump Sues Murdoch in “Heavyweight Bout”: Lawsuit Over Alleged Epstein Letter Sets Stage for Courtroom Showdown
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Tariff Increases on Global Trade Partners
J.K. Rowling Limits Public Engagements Citing Safety Fears
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
×