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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's surprise trip to Jamaica this week sparked controversy on several fronts.
The couple made a rare public appearance, walking the red carpet at the premiere of Paramount Pictures' new film “Bob Marley: One Love,” where they were pictured with Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness.
Holness previously expressed “unresolved” issues between his country and the monarchy when Prince William and Princess Kate visited Jamaica in 2022. Royal expert Kinsey Schofield, host of the “To Di for Daily” podcast, told Fox News Digital exclusively that Harry and Meghan's visit to Jamaica was anything but a redemptive song.
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PRINCE HARRY and MEGHAN MARKLE MAKE RARE PUBLIC APPEARANCES A WEEK AFTER THE ROYAL FAMILY'S MEDICAL PROBLEM
Meghan and Harry attended the premiere of Paramount's new Bob Marley biopic. (Marcus Ingram)
The prime minister told Prince William and Princess Kate during a visit in 2022 that Jamaica intends to become fully independent. “We’ll carry on,” he said. “We intend to… fulfill our true ambitions and destiny as an independent, developed and prosperous country.”
PRINCE HARRY'S HONOR AT JOHN TRAVOLTA'S EVENT LABELED 'BIZARR' BY EXPERTS
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The former British colony would be only the second Caribbean island to cut ties with the monarchy in recent years, after Barbados cut ties in November 2021. Britain ruled Jamaica for more than 300 years, particularly in the 18th century when the British government was involved in the Atlantic slave trade. While Jamaica gained independence in August 1962, it remained part of the British Commonwealth.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle walked the red carpet at the premiere of Bob Marley: One Love alongside Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness and his wife Juliet, as well as MP Olivia Grange. (Jason Koerner)
“I understand and agree with the criticism that the couple were photographed with anti-monarchy Prime Minister Andrew Holness, but in their defense I think their real aim is to make Hollywood moves,” Schofield said. “I feel like they are completely consuming themselves. Completely clueless.”
Schofield added that the Sussexes are “clearly not worried about what it looks like” to attend a red carpet event “while the Princess of Wales and the King attend to medical emergencies.”
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“Sometimes I think they are given too much of a reputation as diabolical when there are repeated errors in judgment that indicate that these are two individuals who rarely assess the consequences of their actions.”
Last week, Kensington Palace announced that Princess Kate, who turned 42 this month, had undergone “planned abdominal surgery” at the London Clinic. The Princess of Wales also postponed all public duties until after Easter in April.
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex pose with Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins and his wife Tracy Robbins at the premiere of “Bob Marley: One Love” in Kingston, Jamaica. (Jason Koerner)
Shortly after Kate's announcement, Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles III. underwent treatment for an enlarged prostate and was forced to postpone public appearances “for a short recovery period.”
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“The royal family cannot have been pleased that Harry and Meghan became friends with Andrew Holness, Jamaica's prime minister and avid supporter of independence from the Commonwealth,” British royals expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital.
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“It will not have gone unnoticed that Harry and Meghan are together at this extremely sensitive time for the royal family, when King Charles III. is about to have surgery and Kate is recovering, they're not exactly loyal when they're dealing with anti-monarchists.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who stepped down from their senior royal roles in 2020, returned to the island together for the first time in seven years.
Meghan Markle married her first husband, Trevor Engelson, in Jamaica in 2011. (MEGA)
Meghan Markle wore a yellow bikini and played games on the beach during her four-day wedding in Jamaica with her first husband Trevor Engleson. (MEGA)
They had already been hanging out in Montego Bay in 2017 when they attended the wedding of his best friend Tom Inskip. A year later, Meghan and Harry married in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.
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Markle has a little place in her heart for the tropical island. In 2011, she said “yes” to her first husband, Trevor Engelson, during a four-day wedding at the Jamaica Inn in Ocho Rios.
Although the former couple had been together for almost a decade, they separated after two years of marriage and divorced in February 2014 without fault.
Royal biographer Andrew Morton claimed Markle ghosted him and sent her rings back via registered mail. According to other reports, the two split up when the former actress rose to fame thanks to her role in Suits.
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