William & Kate fly into tropical storm
Royals’ tour chopper is banned after protests
THE Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s tropical tour kicked off yesterday – but they have had to scrap one visit after a row.
Wills and Kate were welcomed at Belize airport by the country’s Governor General Froyla Tzalam in the afternoon. Later they travelled to the centre of Belize City to meet Prime Minister Johnny Briceno.
But they have been forced to cancel a planned trip to a sustainable cocoa farm because villagers did not want the royal helicopter landing on their football pitch.
The eight-day
Caribbean trip is their first joint trip overseas since the start of the pandemic and is to mark the Queen’s
Platinum Jubilee.
The demo was by Belize’s indigenous Q’eqchi Maya people. They said they were not asked about the royal visit and were outraged William and Kate were given permission to land on their field without consultation.
The couple were due to tour Akte ’il Ha cacao farm in Indian Creek today but their office scrapped it in light of the protest. It has been claimed Indian Creek village in Toledo District has been in dispute with Flora and Fauna International, a conservation charity William supports as a patron.
Sebastian Shol, chairman of Indian Creek village, said: “We don’t want them to land on our land, that’s the message that we want to send.
“They could land anywhere but not on our land.”
Locals held up signs which read: “Prince William leave our land”.
Later a statement from Belize’s government said: “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.”
During the tour Wills and Kate will renew their friendly sporting rivalry in a sailing regatta in the Bahamas.
And in Jamaica, the Cambridges are due to celebrate the island’s musical and sporting heritage, with speculation they could be joined by Olympic sprint legend Usain Bolt.