Let’s face it, William and Kate’s tour of Jamaica is a disaster. If this is the future, then one can only fear for the future of the monarchy itself.
You can see the chronicle of his death predicted at every moment, from the ringing of bongos in Trench Town to emeralds and apologies at the governor’s dinner in Kingston: speeches squirm, docile scenery shrink, optics are poor.
The white, ultra-privileged royal family playfully watch as the locals frolic and entertain them; later shaking hands with Jamaicans driven behind a wire fence? It’s all the past. Its end.
Being 4,000 miles away, I’m dying of embarrassment. For myself, for our country, for Cambridge.
Ever since the Queen and Prince Philip made the same trip in 1953 – and even since their last visit in 2002 – things have changed.
The world is a different place, and history itself is in the throes of revisionism; one that finds members of the royal family on the other side of the abyss, there, at the bottom of the basket, among the dirty laundry of colonialism and the stains of the past.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge pose with a statue of Bob Marley while traveling in the Caribbean.
It will take a lot more to make a difference than Kate showing up in a yellow dress to honor the Jamaican flag, praising teachers for teaching and rattling her locally crafted bracelets.
It’s not the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s fault. It is simply their misfortune that they have crashed into the highest royal duties abroad at a moment in time when the sins of the past are shaping the stuttering trajectory of the future.
They were greatly loved by the people of Jamaica, but they were also the focus of independence protests.
Some officials were even outright rude to them, which made the couple feel uncomfortable.
In fact, if Kate’s hot glue gun smile is further fixed, someone will have to cut it off when she gets home.
Not everyone loves the royal family and it’s easy to see why many Jamaicans want to follow Barbados and become a republic, but I suspect no one would dare to be so blatantly impolite if it were the Queen.
Respected even by many ardent Republicans, she carries with her 70 years of impeccable service like a krypton shield from reproaches.
However, all bets are off with this weaker, watered down new generation of royals who have to accept this for a lot of their “subjects” – eek! – The Commonwealth is not something to be celebrated, but in fact a feudal yoke that you can get rid of.
Some Jamaican politicians are using the visit to make opportunistic demands for reparations for slavery. They caught the moment and the mood – and I don’t even blame them.
At a formal dinner on Wednesday night, Prince William responded with a lavish swoop and royal handshake. Woe to him!
The Duke and Duchess visit Trench Town, the birthplace of reggae music in the heart of Kingston, the capital of Jamaica.
He expressed “deep regret” at the “disgusting” slavery and echoed his father, saying that it would “tarnish” British history.
How I wish one of them would add, “Come on, we led the world in abolishing slavery—more than 30 years before the Americans did.”
We Britons have honestly and sincerely contributed to the civilization of the world as we ourselves have become more civilized and continue to do so.
Accordingly, we recognize that the evil inflicted on us by the Vikings, Romans, Saxons and Germans is limited to the savagery and ignorance of another age, and now we move on together. But no. Instead, all this is humiliated, humiliated, humiliated.
Of course, the veneer of racism that hangs over the Windsors, the terrible stigma left by the Sussexes – that heap of manure they dumped on the royal road – does not help when they were building their fragrant new life in California.
How they must be giggling tonight, ensconced in their Montecito mansion, as the Jamaican humiliation unfolds.
Perhaps not quite realizing that the same powers of redress and redemption would one day come for them and their precious titles. Because here is the real problem.
Prince William expresses his “deep regret” over “heinous” slavery and echoes Charles’s claim that it will “tarnish” British history in an emotional speech at a sumptuous dinner hosted by the Governor General of Jamaica.
Prince William can be so heartbreaking and emotional when he talks about slavery, but one day he will be king – a belief system based on the notion that his bloodline is superior to any other in the Commonwealth.
Cursed by his very existence, he is scorned by a status that gives him a voice and puts him at the center of events.
He may have the best will in the world, but in today’s increasingly noisy social and racial politics, he is as ridiculous and outdated as a royal dodo. No doubt his words were sincere.
Yet they came from a prince who had the audacity to criticize Baft for his lack of diversity two years ago, even though he did show up in Jamaica this week with an almost all-white personal entourage and no blush.
One can see the wisdom of the Queen, never making controversial statements, somehow remaining above the hustle and bustle of everyday worries. See where the alternative will take you? They are open to criticism.
This week has shown that the days of the big royal visit abroad are certainly numbered.
The very idea that the royal family should travel in all their finery and jewels to distant lands to meet people they expect to bow and squat before them, or at least pay their respects, becomes more and more absurd. .
Queens on the road It’s like a band going on a farewell tour to play their greatest hits, only to find that no one else is listening, that the fans are moving on to another drumbeat. It’s not over yet, not really.
However, this week we saw a royal future after the queen – and it does not look bright.
honor of Nazanin
Nazanin Zagari-Ratcliff arrived at the press conference with her husband and daughter.
Nazanin Zagari-Ratcliffe has been heavily condemned for criticizing the UK government without uttering a single word against the brutal Iranian regime that imprisoned her for six years.
But could it be because she is fighting for the freedom of the last hostages still held captive in Iran? If so, her behavior is noble, not deplorable.
Meanwhile, her own family tensions are painfully evident in every public statement and joint appearance.
It’s a reminder that there are always multiple victims in situations like this. Even the strongest relationships take time to recover from such an injury.
Tennis star Ashleigh Barty retired at 25 at the height of her career and fame. Fans are understandably disappointed, but that’s good for her.
She does what she wants, not subject to the rhythms and rules of the international tennis circuit – a life in which she could circle the world, playing the same small pool of opponents over and over again.
Some professional players enjoy it, while others find it robs them of the joy of every game, set and match. Not to mention life itself.
Spare us the celebrities on the warpath
Amanda Holden visited a refugee camp in Poland and is ‘very angry’ about the situation and the complicated paperwork that people who want to come to the UK have to fill out.
Thank God that celebrities have drawn our attention to the war in Ukraine. If not for their efforts, surely no one would have noticed that this was happening?
I am indebted to Amanda Holden who visited a refugee camp in Poland and is ‘very angry’ about the situation and the complicated paperwork that applicants have to fill out to come to the UK.
Madonna released a video about the invasion of Ukraine with a remix of her song “Sorry”.
Meanwhile, Bono is so overwhelmed that he goes and writes a poem; while Sher believes it is all engineered to “bring America to its knees”.
She also believes, according to her Twitter bio, that we should all stand and fight, count or sit and be silent. I got you baby.
Don’t draw a veil over it
Stella Maurice cuts a wedding cake outside Belmarsh Maximum Security Prison.
An instant pang of sympathy for Stella Maurice, photographed in a wedding dress outside the prison before she married Julian Assange in Belmarsh.
This may not be what any bride wants on her big day!
Even if she’s wearing a bespoke Vivienne Westwood dress with a rose on the neckline.
Even if her jailor fiancé and their kids are wearing kilts, and even if she charmingly asked supporters to sponsor a park bench on behalf of the founder of WikiLeaks, rather than give the couple wedding gifts.
Then comes reality. It’s just a pantomime, isn’t it?
Complete with costumes and confetti, the whole thing is meant to put pressure on Priti Patel and win public sympathy for the 50-year-old Assange’s fight against extradition.
Despite the twisted romance of the event, there’s a reason he’s still in jail. So let’s not forget that, beautiful veil or not.
The amazing possibility of greed in the mind of a person living during a pandemic. Damien Hirst is the artist behind The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of the Living, a famous piece of art depicting a shark frozen in formaldehyde. His turnover was £18m in two years of lockdown, but that hasn’t stopped the despicable millionaire from demanding £1.3m in holiday pay for his employees. He’s a bit of a shark himself
Introduce a ban on state intervention
Slapping and slapping children has been banned in Wales and people have been told to contact social services or the police if they see a parent or guardian using physical punishment.
What then? Will moms and dads get punished for spanking their little victims for bad behavior?
The Labor-led Welsh government has called the move “historic” but it could be remarkable for all the wrong reasons.
The truth is that some parents will never spank their children, some do it occasionally under duress, and some are violent psychopaths.
There are already laws that restrict the behavior of the latter, so what remains for everyone else? I note with concern that the philosophy of “soft education” is gaining momentum in the United States.
In this movement, children are not only never punished—either physically or verbally—they are given choices, not orders. In short, they are never told what to do.
For example, when gathering children in the morning, gentle parents should never shout, “Put on your shoes, now!” Instead, they should strive to understand why the baby does not put on shoes and engage in the inner life of the child.
“Don’t you want to put on your shoes because Teddy is more fun to play with?” they have to say. Give me strength. According to these rules, no one ever left the house.
My mother once hit my brother with a kettle, but to be honest it didn’t have boiling water in it and he probably deserved it. In those days, children were not as revered as they are today. Are they happy about it? This is not true.
Now they are so emotionally fragile that they are annoyed by everything that does not suit them. The way you go through life gives you the strength to be who you are.
No, I don’t think kids should be spanked, but I think the choice should be left to the parents. To make it a law is too far an intrusion of the state into family life.