Trapped in a time-warp, the Royals remain stars of their own reality show – Carry on Deluding.
Witness the weird, mistaken belief fostered by Edward and Sophie Wessex that St Lucia would swoon over a photograph of them, handed as a gift to the country’s Prime Minister, Philip Pierre.
Or the idea that other islands within the West Indies would welcome them on their current visit with open arms after William and Kate’s car crash of a Caribbean tour.
To be fair to the Royals, they need better guidance from the Foreign Office, who advise them on gifts and where to go.
That there is still an impression the Caribbean will still tug its collective forelock at representatives of the nations that colonised and enslaved them tells you much about the heart of the British establishment.
There has been a will to host them – even in St Vincent where my parents were born – as long as the Royals are ready for a straight-talking chat about the UK’s responsibilities it has so far failed to live up to. In addition to a strongly worded letter from the Antigua and Barbuda Reparations Support Commission, Jomo Thomas Chambers, former chair of the St Vincent & Grenadines Reparations Committee, has pulled few punches with his warning to other Royals hoping to jet in after the Wessexes.
“Edward and Sophie come a year after the volcanic eruptions,” he wrote for BreadFruit News. “The British government pledged a paltry sum of £200,000 during those difficult times. The monarchy, which sits on billions, did not give a cent. Edward and his wife Sophie should be reminded that they have stepped onto a crime scene at every turn. They must be made to confront the reality that their ancestors are architects of this crime resulting in rape, murder, theft, and underdevelopment.
“They ought not to have been invited here. Since our neo-colonial leaders welcome them, we, the people, must make them feel uninvited. We must, in action, disinvite them with our protest.
“We cannot and must not accept their smug expressions of regret for their aggressive conquest, exile, slavery and colonialism. If there is no genuine apology and commitment to repair, we must treat them with scorn and ridicule.”
The Royals would do well to start reading the room.
