William and Kate cancel Caribbean event amid ‘anti-colonialism’ protests

London: Prince William and his wife Catherine have cancelled a planned visit to a Belize village after an indigenous group staged a protest over a long-running land rights dispute.

The first day of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge week-long tour of Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas was thrown into chaos after community members of Indian Creek, a village in the foothills of the Maya Mountains, made it clear they didn’t want the royals there.

Catherine and Williamare greeted on their arrival in Belize City, Belize.Credit: Getty Images

The couple were due to visit a family-run Akte ’il Ha sustainable cacao farm, arriving in a helicopter which was supposed to land on a nearby football pitch, which had also aggrieved locals.

The protest was part of a long-running dispute over communal land rights with the state and charity group Flora and Fauna International, which works to protect ecosystems worldwide, over the rights to lands lost in the colonial era.

Some protestors from the indigenous Mayan village held up signs on Saturday that read “colonial legacy of theft continues with Prince”, and “this is not Crown land”. Another sign read: “Not Your Land, Not Your Decision”.

A sore point for the village of about 1000 people is just under 5000 hectares of land that they have been told by FFI agents is private property and not for communal use. William has been the patron of FFI since 2020, in a long line of royals.

Indigenous protesters in Belize.Credit: Belize Channel 7

Sebastian Shol, the chairman of Indian Creek Village told local media: “We don’t want them to land in our land, that’s the message that we want to send, they could land anywhere but not in our land.”

Dionisio Shol, described as a youth leader by Channel 7 news in Belize, said William supporting FFI was “something that we will not stand for”.

“Imagine you going to Kensington palace, you can’t just show up there you have to dialogue and see if you even can go so reverse it in our role, reverse it in our role and say why would the state be aiding, it’s like the state is aiding these colonial masters by doing that to us,” he said.

A protesters holds a sign criticising the Prince.Credit: Belize Channel 7

“Indian Creek is still suffering from the colonial legacy which simply means for us Prince William being a patron to FFI is from the colonial era.”

The eight-day Carribean charm offensive is being undertaken on behalf of the Queen to strengthen the Britain’s ties with Commonwealth countries as she marks 70 years on the throne. Belize is one of the 14 Realms outside of Britain where the Queen remains the head of state.

A spokeswoman woman for Kensington Palace confirmed that “due to sensitive issues” involving the community in Indian Creek, the visit had been moved to a different location.

The Belize government said in a statement: “Indian Creek was one of several sites being considered. Due to issues in the village, the government of Belize activated its contingency planning and another venue has been selected to showcase Maya family entrepreneurship in the cacao industry.”

Last year Barbados, after nearly 400 years as a British colony, transitioned to a republic after a vote to cut the ties with the Crown – although it still remains a member of the Commonwealth.

The Cambridges, on their first overseas visit since the beginning of the pandemic, were welcomed by Belize prime minister John Briceño on Saturday, who last year said it was “high time” Belize’s governing system was examined.

Jamaica, which has been independent for 60 years, is also openly debating removing the Queen as head of state, which loyalists fear could start a domino effect through the English-speaking Caribbean.

Get a note direct from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.