Belmopan, 21 March 2022 (TDI): The British Duke and Duchess of Cambridge landed in Belize on 19th March for a week-long trip to the Caribbean Region.
The Governor-General of Belize, Froyla Tzalam, received Prince William and Princess Kate at the airport. The Belizean defense forces presented the royal couple with a guard of honor on their arrival.
Later, they also met with Prime Minister Johnny Briceno. The Belizean Prime Minister and his wife expressed pleasure at the visit.
Their planned activities in the country included visits and meetings with local people and cultural activities. The royal trip commemorates Queen’s Platinum Jubilee this year.
William and Kate will also visit the Bahamas and Jamaica. Queen Elizabeth II is the common monarch of these Caribbean states. However, the visit became somewhat controversial due to protests by an indigenous community against the royal couple.
Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton were due to tour the Akte ‘il Ha cacao farm on their first official day of tours in the country but the visit was canceled.
The community has a dispute with Flora and Fauna International, a biodiversity conservation NGO. Prince William is one of the patrons of this organization. The Kensington Palace announced in a statement that they shifted the visit to another location.
The statement read, “We can confirm that due to sensitive issues involving the community in Indian Creek, the visit has been moved to a different location”. Instead, the royal couple toured a Mayan family business in the cacao industry.
Belize in the Commonwealth Realm
Belize is a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state. It is also a part of the Commonwealth Realm, a collection of countries that have the British monarch as their head of state. Since its independence in 1981, the governor-general of Belize has been the representative of the monarchy.
