Jamaican PM says William & Kate 'always welcome' after car crash Carribean tour
Jamaica is pressing ahead with plans to become a republic in a blow to King Charles’ reign.
In an interview with the Mirror, the country’s Prime Minister said he would’ve preferred to have cut colonial ties with Britain as soon as the Queen passed away.
But Andrew Holness blamed bureaucratic political processes for holding things up.
Despite William and Kate’s controversial trip to the island, he extended a hand of friendship to the royals, saying they “are always welcome”.
Tensions arose during the couple’s car crash tour of the Caribbean last year when the Prime Minister ambushed an awkward Prince and Princess of Wales to tell them Jamaica was “moving on” as an independent country.
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In an unofficial visit to the UK this week, during which he has no plans to meet King Charles, Mr Holness confirmed the country is “on the journey” to following Barbados’ lead in ceasing to be a British realm and becoming a republic.
Andrew shares a joke with Mirror's Sophie (Times Media Ltd)He admitted the process had “been elongated” due to "a long period of public education and public consultation".
“We have set indicative timelines. We would have wanted to be able to do this within a year but the process is not a linear one,” he added.
Asked if the royal family have been stalling things, the Jamaican PM said: “In fact they have been very graceful. The Royal Family and King Charles was very clear at the Commonwealth that these matters are for the determination of sovereign nations.”
The British Government “has expressed no view” on the matter, he added. Mr Holness admitted the “transition” between Queen Elizabeth being on the throne to King Charles would have been an “appropriate time” to split from the Crown.
“I think there was always a strong love and respect for the Queen in Jamaica,” he said.
William and Kate’s tour of the Caribbean in March last year was besieged by protestors calling for reparations for Britain’s role in the appalling slave trade, from which the royal family historically benefitted.
Mr Holness said he did “not think there should be any misinterpretation of any inhospitality or unwelcomeness to the royals”.
“There are issues that are unresolved. There are issues that might be contentious but I think generally the royals have been and have always been very well received,” he said.
“You can see that in the ordinary people who came out to see them, who wanted to associate on the part of their celebrity. But that doesn’t take away from whatever outstanding issues there are.
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“I do think that they have been very gracious and that they went further than they have ever done in addressing the issues of concern.”
While Mr Holness remains committed to ditching the royal family, he reiterated his passion to keep Jamaicans connected between the UK and the Caribbean island.
“Part of my duty as Prime Minister is to interact with our diaspora and the Jamaican diaspora is quite large, the largest for the Caribbean. A fact that I always pay attention to is that there are as many Jamaicans overseas as there are Jamaicans living on the island and our diaspora remains very connected with the people on the island," he said.
“They remain connected with their schools, they remain connected with their communities, they remain connected with their churches and they remain connected with their families.”
Mr Holness acknowledged the diaspora is “becoming many generations removed from Jamaica”.
He said one of the reasons for his visit was to meet Jamaican-born entrepreneur Theresa Roberts, who has recently been appointed as an ambassador for Jamaica.
The Prime Minister was being interviewed at Covent Garden’s Jamaica Patty Co, which was founded by Ms Roberts.
“It’s always important that there is direct outreach,” he said. “So another role for our ambassadors - our special ambassadors which we have appointed - is to keep the diaspora engaged, keep the Jamaican flag flying high and to attract not just the cultural and social interest in Jamaica but also to attract and promote the commercial interest in Jamaica.”
Asked about the 75th Anniversary of Windrush, Mr Holness alluded to the scandal that saw hundreds of people wrongly targeted by immigration enforcement.
“I think Jamaicans are aware of the Windrush situation. There have been several reports in the press. Jamaicans have been impacted.
“The (Jamaican) government has been very active in ensuring that the interests of Jamaicans are maintained, protected, and advanced,” he said.
Attendees at the Jamaica Patty Co, who came to see Mr Holness, included singer Mica Paris and ex-boxer Chris Eubank.
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