The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have just finished a weeklong visit to former British colonies in the Caribbean. Their trip comes after Barbados cut ties to the monarchy and became a republic last year. During the so-called charm offensive to the British Commonwealth countries, the royals were met with protests calling for reparations for slavery. We speak with senior Jamaican Member of Parliament Lisa Hanna, who met with the royals during their visit and has critiqued the couple for not putting forward an action plan to redress the crimes of slavery committed by the British monarchy against the Jamaican people, adding that any British “condemnation [of slavery] without action is hollow.” Hanna outlines how Jamaica could swiftly break ties with the monarchy through referendum or a change in the Constitution.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.