The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have kicked off their royal tour of the Caribbean despite the cancellation of a major visit casting a shadow over their trip to Belize.
Residents of a village the royal couple were due to visit on Sunday protested over a range of issues, including a dispute over the Cambridges’ helicopter landing site.
A spokesperson for Kensington Palace confirmed that the visit was “moved to a different location” as a result of the “sensitive issues involving the community in Indian Creek”.
The Akte ‘il Ha cacao farm in Indian Creek village was set to be Prince William and Kate Middleton’s first full-day engagement in Belize, but villagers staged a protest on Friday opposing the visit.
According to local reports, the village has been “in open conflict” over “an adjoining, contested property” with Flora and Fauna International, a conservation charity that William supports as a patron.
Belize media outlet Channel Seven reported that the dispute centred on tensions between citizens and the state about the “meaning of consent in the context of communal land rights – rights to lands that were expunged in the colonial period by the British”.
Despite the row, William and Kate were all smiles as they arrived in Belize on Saturday afternoon after an 11-hour long haul flight from the UK.
They were welcomed by Belize’s Governor General Froya Tzalam as they stepped from the Voyager ministerial jet ahead of an official meeting with prime minister Johnny Briceno.
The Belize Defence Force formed a guard of honour to greet the couple and William inspected the personnel after military songs were played by the unit’s band.
The visit to Akte ‘il Ha farm will be replaced with a similar visit that will see the couple tour a chocolate producer on Sunday and later travel to the cultural centre of the Garifuna community in Hopkins.
William and Kate will then visit a beachfront village, where they will be greeted with a demonstration of Garifuna culture and learn about efforts to preserve Belize’s barrier reef.
A Kensington Palace spokesperson said the couple were “very much looking forward to visiting the Caribbean region” and to having the opportunity to thank communities across Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas for the support they had shown for the Queen.
Other members of the royal family who will be embarking on royal tours this spring in honour of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee include the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, and Princess Anne and husband Sir Tim Laurence.
Additional reporting by PA
