Prince William And Duchess Kate’s Problematic Caribbean Tour Cost Taxpayers $275,000
Prince William and Duchess Kate live in a luxurious 24-karat gold-plated bubble of ignorance (it’s one of the benefits that comes with being two of the most famous royals in the world). So of course when they went on an official tour of the Caribbean earlier this year, they likely assumed it would be nothing but flowers, handshakes, photo-ops, and bottomless platters of Welcome to Our Island! fruits and cheese. That’s not exactly what happened. Will and Kate’s visits to Belize, Jamaica, and the Bahamas were met with protests from locals who wanted to address the subject of colonialism, especially in the wake of Barbados declaring their independence and splitting from the British Commonwealth just a couple of months earlier. William and Kate reportedly had some regrets about showing up in several countries that really didn’t want them there. And it looks like non-royal British citizens can join them deckside on the S.S. Regrets, because that messy tour reportedly cost taxpayers $275,000.
Protests around the Cambridges’ visit had to do with everything from British imperialism, to colonialism, to demanding that the monarchy start making slavery reparations, to simply just not wanting Will and Kate on their land. Prince William tried to make it all go away by telling Jamaicans that slavery was “abhorrent,” that he wanted to express his “profound sorrow” about it, and that it “never should have happened.” All of which are like lines out of a book called DUH Mad Libs. And shock of all shocks, his comments didn’t do shit to make the people of Jamaica feel any better about the visit. It was only made worse by the fact that Jamaica has been angling to follow in Barbados’ footsteps and leave the Commonwealth.
The whole thing was objectively a mess, and didn’t exactly do much to strengthen the bond between Queen Elizabeth’s turf back in the UK and the Caribbean (one could argue that at this point, that bond is as strong as two popsicle sticks being held together with a piece of Play-Doh). And now it’s been reported as the most expensive royal trip of the year. via People magazine:
According to a palace report on Wednesday, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s trip in March cost the British taxpayer $275,000.
William and Kate’s tour of Belize, Jamaica and The Bahamas was the most expensive tour by the royal family in the recent financial year, which just came to a close. The couple encountered mounting tensions in the Caribbean nations where the Queen remains head of state. The tour saw protests over colonialism and calls for dropping the Queen as head of state.
The second most expensive foreign visit was by Prince Charles, who traveled to Barbados last November at a cost of cost $168,000. The heir to the throne was on hand for Barbados’ transition ceremony as they removed Queen Elizabeth as head of state and swore in the island country’s first president.
That financial breakdown also includes how much Queen Elizabeth spent on a train trip to Scotland last June ($38,400). A total of $341,000 in charter plane trips and $1.1 million in helicopter rides taken by the royal family. People notes that the Royal Family took more trips this year than last, solely due to things opening back up after the pandemic shut them down.
But I don’t think the Royal Family is looking at all those travel expenses and brushing it off as part of the job. A royal source says they’re all very concerned about all the emissions pumped out during their millions spent on traveling.
Royal aides recognize that there is a “tension” between the royal family’s desire to cut carbon emissions and their environmental work — like William’s Earthshot Prize and Charles’ sustainability and climate control efforts.
“Travel is an important part of members of the Royal Family, whether it’s visiting communities or overseas travel at the requests of government. It is part of the core role of members of the Royal Family.”
That source adds that Zoom calls and virtual engagements will always be on the table, but that there’s no substitute for in-person visits. And yet, it feels like there’s an awful lot of taxpayer dollars being spent on trips that could have been a phone call. Actually, William and Kate’s trip to the Caribbean could set a new precedence here. Rather than set the taxpayers up for another $275,000 disaster, Will and Kate could just call up the Commonwealth country they want to visit, and simply ask if the citizens would like a week-long pop-in from some aristocratic folk. Something tells me that travel budget would be hovering under the $1000 mark in no time.
Pic: INSTARimages