Prince Edward and the Countess of Wessex have cancelled part of their upcoming royal tour of the Caribbean at short notice.
The couple will no longer be visiting Grenada as part of a six-day trip – beginning on Friday – in celebration of the Queen’s platinum jubilee.
The country was removed from the itinerary on Thursday, though no official explanation for the change was given by Buckingham Palace.
The decision was made following consultation with the government of Grenada and on the advice of the governor general.
The changed plans come days after fresh details emerged regarding Britain’s role in the enslavement of Black people in its former colony.
Research commissioned by the Bank of England in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests has revealed that ownership of two plantations and 599 people in Grenada was transferred to the financial institution in the early 1770s.
The names of the 599 enslaved people can be viewed at a free exhibition, launched last week, at the bank’s museum on Threadneedle Street in central London.
Though the Bank of England has previously apologised for its historical links to the slave trade, the revelation that it directly owned Black people has caused upset among the Caribbean diaspora.
In particular the descendants of those who were enslaved under the regime which dealt in the trade of Africans.
In consultation with the government of Grenada and on the advice of the Governor General, The Earl and Countess of Wessex’s visit to Grenada has been postponed, it is understood, though they hope to visit at a later date.
Ambassador Arley Gill, chairman of the Grenada National Reparations Committee, said: “This exhibit at the Bank of England’s museum in London brings home to us now – if we were not aware of it before – the exploitation of Grenada as a colony of Great Britain and its institutions, and should intensify our urgent call-to-action to every Grenadian to join the fight for reparations and reparatory justice for the descendants of enslaved people here in Grenada”
“The time has come for the British government and the descendants of British elites who benefitted from the enslavement of our ancestors to own-up to this heinous crime against humanity – and do the right thing,” he added.
“As an institution, the Bank of England was never itself directly involved in the slave trade, but is aware of some inexcusable connections involving former governors and directors and apologises for them,” the Bank of England said in a previous statement.
The transatlantic slave trade saw the transportation of millions from Africa to the Caribbean and north America – which British monarchs and the elite class profited from during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Edward and Sophie will visit Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Antigua and Barbuda.
Prince Edward, the Queen’s youngest child, and the Countess of Wessex will celebrate “the culture, future and vibrancy of the islands” during the trip, meeting communities, local entrepreneurs and craftspeople.
The couple reportedly revised their schedule to avoid “PR mistakes” following criticism levied at the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s tour of Jamaica, Belize and the Bahamas.
Buckingham Palace has been contacted for comment.
