The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have ended the pandemic with the recovery of the great tours of countries abroad.
William of England and Kate Middleton have embarked on what is their longest visit in more than two years, and they have done it in a big way: with an eight-day
tour
of the Caribbean in which they will visit Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas .
This is the heir's first official visit to the Caribbean, but it is by no means his first trip to the area.
William and Kate, as well as the Middleton family, are regulars on the Caribbean island of Mustique;
In fact, it was there that some famous photographs of Kate Middleton in a bikini were taken, which the palace considered an "attack on privacy".
However, this official trip, to which they attend as envoys of Elizabeth II to celebrate her 70 years on the throne, will not leave such prints.
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After 11 hours of flight, the dukes landed in Belize on Saturday and were received by the governor general, but Sunday was the first day they faced official commitments.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited a small cocoa factory in the city of Hopkins called Che'il, where they were taught the traditional way of making chocolate, which is still done as it was in the time of the Mayans.
Guillermo and Kate worked the cocoa paste with a volcanic rock mortar.
“Can I come to work with you?
It's my thing," he joked.
In addition, they commented that their three children, Jorge, Carlota and Luis, who did not accompany them on the trip, would feel "very envious" of their parents' activity and the cocoa tasting.
However, despite the showiness of the activity, this was a last-minute addition to the agenda of the dukes.
They were initially going to visit another factory, but as the BBC reports, the visit was canceled due to protests by a dozen local residents, who opposed it.
Apparently, they were going to visit the Akte'il Ha cocoa farm, in Indian Creek, but its owners and workers are in conflict with an association called Fauna and Flora International, and Guillermo is a patron of the same, over some land.
William of England and Kate Middleton at the Che'il chocolate farm in Belize, on March 20, 2022. POOL (REUTERS)
In addition, a group of local residents reportedly protested on Friday before the couple's arrival to complain that the royal helicopter had been allowed to land on the local soccer field and they had not been consulted.
On Sunday, another group counter-protested, asking that the visit of the dukes be resumed, but the itinerary had already been modified.
Kensington Palace confirmed the route change due to “sensitivity issues”, as Reuters reports.
After tasting cocoa and chocolate, the dukes visited the Garífuna community, descendants of Africa who settled in the Caribbean to escape the slave trade.
Along with them, they participated in a small party in which they were seen relaxed and fun, dancing with members of the community and trying the local food.
To end the day, they went to a marine conservation center.
William of England, dancing with a woman from the Garifuna community, in Hopkins, Belize, on March 20, 2022. POOL (REUTERS)
On Monday the couple will continue in Belize, until Tuesday morning, and then go on to visit Jamaica and the Bahamas.
This long visit comes four months after Barbados, a Caribbean neighbor of these three countries, decided to separate itself from British influence and become an independent republic, although it is still part of the Commonwealth of Nations.
In a few weeks, in April, the queen's youngest son, Edward, and his wife, Sofia, will also travel to Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
With this visit, the British royal family is trying to tie ties with a region that Elizabeth II has visited on several occasions during her reign (she has been to Barbados alone four times), but which she has now left in the hands of her grandson because of his health and his 95 years.
