Visit to the Caribbean
“Queen say sorry!”: Headwind for Prince Edward and Sophie
Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex. Photo: Joe Giddens/PA Wire/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Members of the Royal Family are now more frequently confronted with British colonial history as they travel through the Commonwealth. This time it hits two lesser-known nobles.
During their Caribbean trip, Queen’s son Prince Edward (58) and his wife Countess Sophie (57) felt headwind because of the British colonial past.
As the PA news agency reported on Wednesday, the two were warmly received by officials in the island nation of St. Lucia, but there were also protests against the visit.
While the couple was visiting a cocoa plantation, a small group of protesters gathered at the compound’s fence and demanded an apology from the Queen for slavery and colonial exploitation, as well as compensation. Pictures showed people with flags of the Rastafari movement and posters with slogans like “Queen say sorry!” or “There is blood on your hands Queen”.
Prince William (39) and Duchess Kate (40) recently had to deal with negative headlines on a trip to the Caribbean. In Jamaica, among other places, they had felt the anger of descendants of former slaves at the injustice suffered. The trip, which ends on Thursday, should also have a bitter aftertaste for Edward and Sophie.
Both couples were traveling on behalf of 96-year-old Queen Elizabeth II, who celebrates her 70th jubilee this year. The trips were actually intended as a charm offensive in the former colonies, where the British queen is still head of state. In several of the states there are now efforts to break away from the British royal family. The Caribbean state of Barbados only declared itself a republic last fall.