Duke & Duchess Of Cambridge tour … is it just me?

[PodgePie]

I am a huge royalist (obviously not Andrew but definitely William and Kate). However, I am struggling with their current tour, in a time of war, of crippling price rises and also Covid, it seems tasteless to be parading around in the sunshine in a stream of hugely expensive outfits, each one more luxurious than the next. I understand why international tours take place - and agree they have an important role - but shouldn’t this have been postponed given the climate?

Whatever the aim of this royal tour was... I suspect it hasn't worked. I know it was to celebrate the platinum jubilee but I imagine it was also to shore up support in the CW.

However, just two days after W&K have left Belize, the country has announced a review of their constitution and a move towards becoming a republic.

caribbean.loopnews.com/content/belize-moving-towards-republicanism

The whole idea that nations can be persuaded to love the Royals by a tour like this is so incredibly patronising. Give the children some sweets to keep them quiet, kind of thing.
The contrast between their privilege and entitlement compared to the lives of most of the citizens is stark. As it is in this country.
There is a photo of them from last night when their guard appeared to be down. They both look strained and miserable. My guess is they know they're flogging a dead horse too but have no options. I feel sorry for them actually.

I do feel a bit sorry for them too. But only a very small bit!

However, I wonder how much control do they have over the hiring of the aides, the PR people, the KP staff? Total control I would imagine. I read somewhere that W&K purged a lot of experienced people a few years back and maybe this is why this tour has been a disaster. Inexperience. Also the fact they were the only royal household not to give out their staff diversity figures says a lot. They flew to the Caribbean with an all white staff. Madness.

This tour was a throwback to the 1960s, but times have changed, and why no one in authority didn't realise that, god alone knows. No sensitivity.

I can understand a Platinum Jubilee tour of countries in the Commonwealth. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge taking the place of the Queen.

It does seem to have been very badly planned.

They flew to the Caribbean with an all white staff. Madness

If that's right then it is indeed madness; you'd think they'd include a few POC on the team, even if they had to recruit them especially for the tour (and since "the appearance of the thing" is all they have to offer now I'm surprised they didn't)

As ever, and on all sides, there's a lot being made of the images which may or may not be justified, but overall it seems to me yet another indication that the whole thing just doesn't work in the 21st century

@Puzzledandpissedoff

Do you know that Jamaica invited them or did the RF instigate the visit? Because I don't know

I don't pretend to know either, kateemo. I'm aware that "inviting the RF" (or at least appearing to) is the usual thing to do, though it's also true the royals could have engineered this one

Of course the islands could always have said no, but then they really might have got the gunboat!!

gunboat LMAO!!

If that's right then it is indeed madness; you'd think they'd include a few POC on the team, even if they had to recruit them especially for the tour (and since "the appearance of the thing" is all they have to offer now I'm surprised they didn't)

Ironically, the royal family had a poc on their team, but she’s been ejected from the country. Whatever their faults, H&M did say publicly that colonialism should be acknowledged and addressed, and that historic wrongs should be righted. Of course this was met with scorn from the media and, if the reports are correct, horror at the palace.

She chose to leave

Yeah because the situation here was so toxic.

As the NY Association of Black Journalists said:
”bullying Meghan Markle has become a national past-time" in Britain.”