Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were blasted by a royal expert over last night’s appearance in Jamaica. They accused the Duke and Duchess of Sussex of “staging” their attendance at the premiere of Bob Marley: One Love, which coincides with King Charles’s planned enlarged prostate operation and Kate, the Princess of Wales’s ongoing recovery from abdominal surgery last week.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams criticised the Sussexes as he said they “knew” their appearance would get a “huge amount of publicity” while he also discussed their controversial pictures with Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness.
He told Express.co.uk: “Harry and Meghan clearly staged this appearance in Jamaica because they knew it would get a huge amount of publicity during a difficult week for the royal family, with the King due to enter hospital and Catherine in hospital after an operation and due to take some weeks to recover. This appearance by the Sussexes was no accident.
“It will reinforce the royal family’s views that they are not to be trusted and it seems a deliberate ploy by the couple to remind the wider world of the pull their brand could have had in the Commonwealth.”
On their interaction with the Jamaican PM, the expert added: “Andrew Holness, the Prime Minister of Jamaica, made it clear during the Waleses visit in March 2022 that the country would become a republic.
“A referendum is required to achieve this and it is therefore by no means a foregone conclusion.
“However he was blunt in his comments in front of his royal guests.”
Mr Holness has been very vocal about wanting his country to cut ties with the British monarchy.
In 2022, he stated Jamaica would be moving on to fulfil its destiny to gain independence and prosperity.
According to a 2023 poll, nearly half of Jamaicans admitted they would vote to become a republic, with just a 40 percent saying they’d vote to retain the monarchy.
Mr Holness told the Daily Express last year: “I think there was always a strong love and respect for the Queen in Jamaica. The appropriate time to do it would have been on a transition.”
A referendum was due to happen this year, however, no details have been confirmed as of yet.
