Prince William expresses ‘profound sorrow’ for slavery in Jamaica visit, but offers no apology
Prince William has expressed his “profound sorrow” for slavery throughout a go to to Jamaica, although he stopped in need of providing the apology demanded by protesters who’re additionally searching for reparations for Britain’s function within the slave commerce.
William, second in line to the throne, made the feedback whereas addressing a dinner in Kingston, Jamaica’s capital. He echoed the phrases of his father, the Prince of Wales, who described the slave commerce as an “appalling atrocity” throughout a go to to Barbados final yr, when that Caribbean nation severed its ties to the British crown and have become a republic.
“I need to specific my profound sorrow,” William mentioned. “Slavery was abhorrent, and it ought to by no means have occurred.”
The prince and his spouse, the Duchess of Cambridge, are on a weeklong journey to Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas designed to strengthen Britain’s ties with Commonwealth nations as Queen Elizabeth marks 70 years on the throne. Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness mentioned earlier Wednesday that his nation intends to sever its ties to the monarchy and turn out to be absolutely unbiased.
The Queen, William’s grandmother, stays the top of state for Jamaica and 13 different international locations that have been as soon as British colonies.
William’s feedback underscore the sensitivity of the journey in a rustic the place Britain’s legacy as Jamaica’s colonial ruler in the course of the period of enslaved African labour remains to be controversial. The prince mentioned anniversaries such because the Worldwide Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Commerce, which will probably be marked on Friday, present a second for “reflection.”
Protesters in Jamaica have spoken out in opposition to the journey, demonstrating outdoors the British Excessive Fee on Tuesday with raised fists and sporting T-shirts emblazoned with a pair of shackled Black wrists surrounded by the phrases “Seh Yuh Sorry!” and “Apologize now!”
“Kings, Queens and Princesses and Princes belong in fairy tales, NOT in Jamaica!” learn one poster held aloft by a younger lady.
