Despite meticulous arrangements and forensic levels of planning, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s tour of the Caribbean has not gone entirely as scheduled
Why not?
The eight-day tour is intended as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations and will include visits to Jamaica and the Bahamas. But it was at the first stop, Belize, that the hiccup happened.
Do tell …
Well, a planned visit to a cacao farm had to be cancelled after locals mounted a demonstration the day before the couple arrived. At issue was a dispute between residents of Indian Creek village, in Belize’s Toledo district, and conservation charity Flora And Fauna International, of which the Duke of Cambridge is a patron. On top of all that, the royal couple were due to land their helicopter on the village football pitch, which act of noblesse oblige appears to have been planned without permission from the villagers. “We don’t want them to land on our land,” said village representative Sebastian Shol, “that’s the message that we want to send. They could land anywhere but not on our land.” Belize broadcaster Channel 7 said the background to the dispute centred on what it referred to as the “meaning of consent in the context of communal land rights – rights to lands that were expunged in the colonial period by the British.” A somewhat red-faced Belize government hastily activated what it called its “contingency planning” and found another venue “to showcase Maya family entrepreneurship in the cacao industry.” Which brings us to the dad dancing.
Dad dancing?
Oh yes. On Sunday, the second day of the tour, the Cambridges visited a cultural centre in the coastal town of Hopkins where they were shown how to open a cacao pod with a stick, and it was here that both Duke and Duchess did strut their funky stuff. “They were shaking their waists like nobody’s business,” said the Duke’s dance partner, local organiser Laura Cacho. Preferring to avoid creating a diplomatic incident by criticising the Duke’s not-so-smooth moves, she added: “He shook his waist to the music. He had beautiful rhythm”. Later the couple ate sweet porridge and the Duchess was presented with a pair of maracas.
Where’s next?
After Belize the couple head for Jamaica where among other treats they’ll meet some up-and-coming stars of the country’s music scene and celebrate the life of one of its greatest musical exports – Bob Marley. There is also speculation that a certain Mr Usain Bolt might drop in on them when they celebrate the country’s great sporting heritage. Finally there will be time for a spot of sailing at a regatta in the Bahamas.
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