Prince in Havana — but not for the cigars

The Prince of Wales was to due to arrive in Cuba with the Duchess of Cornwall last night for a four-day visit.

Prince Charles and Camilla sample the wares at a chocolate factory in St George’s, Grenada. Picture: Getty Images

Not since Graham Greene wrote his 1958 novel about the antics of a bogus British spy in Cuba has our man in Havana caused such a stir.

The Prince of Wales was to arrive on the communist-run island with the Duchess of Cornwall last night for an intriguing four-day visit that represents something of a breakthrough in relations between Havana and London.

The regime, not previously noted for its embrace of British princes, has rolled out its reddest carpet for the first official royal visit to post-revolutionary Cuba. The death of Fidel Castro in 2016 and the retirement of his brother Raul last year appear to have opened the door to an unusual merger of mutual interests.

The trip will feature the usual tourist highlights — including music from the Buena Vista Social Club, a classic car event and visits to boxing gyms and dance studios — but Charles and Camilla will also dine tonight with the Castros’ hand-picked heir, President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who succeeded Raul last April.

For both countries, the visit represents opportunity. Under continuing pressure from Donald Trump, who has reversed most of Barack Obama’s attempts to normalise relations, the Republic of Cuba needs all the friends in Europe it can find. The British government, which asked Charles to include Cuba on his Caribbean tour, also spotted an opening to drum up trade and improve Britain’s cultural, academic and environmental links with the island as Brexit negotiations drag on. No British prime minister has set foot on Cuban soil and any overt political initiative would be certain to irritate Mr Trump.

Cuba has long been criticised by the wider international community for its repression of freedom of expression and its poor human rights record. Anti-Cuban anger in Washington was recently heightened by a mysterious bout of illness among US diplomats in Havana, that was initially blamed on some kind of “acoustic attack” but has since been attributed to stress. Mr Trump ordered embassy staff to be reduced to a minimum as a precaution.

The British government previously ruled out royal visits to Cuba while the country was under the Castros, but that did not stop younger members of the royal family forging their own links.

In 2009, the design company run by Charles’s cousin, then Viscount Linley, was criticised by Cuban exiles for creating a £5350 cigar humidor engraved with the Cuban flag. Charles may have had other reasons for disapproving of his cousin’s venture — he hates ­cigars. Charles has also refused to visit China in protest at the regime’s human rights record. But he now appears willing to improve relations with Cuba.

The Sunday Times