I’m not tired of talking about the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s Colonialist Tour. It honestly felt like a watershed moment, the “jumping the shark” of the whole structure of the monarchy and the future of the Commonwealth. These are the same people who are still whining about sh-t the Duchess of Sussex did four years ago – we can still talk about the Flop Tour. So, Omid Scobie was highly critical – and I think fairly critical – of the Flop Tour as it was happening, as the images were coming in. Royal reporters blasted him, only to admit days later that the tour was going poorly for the exact same reasons Scobie enumerated. Scobie appeared on Newsweek’s The Royal Report podcast and he once again pointed out how sheltered William and Kate are and how their staffers are terrible at their jobs. Some highlights:
The Cambridges weren’t respectful towards the political climates: “With a tour such as this you’re visiting former British colonies, countries that have deep history when it comes to slavery that was sort of overseen mostly by Britain, and the royal family at times—it’s impossible to start a trip like that without feeling like it must be acknowledged in some way,” said Scobie. “I think partly the fact that this trip was to do with celebrating the queen’s jubilee… in the process [it] completely forgot about being respectful or mindful of the political climates in each country.”
The bad staff work behind the bad stagecraft: Meinzer said she believed the “whole world” was “cringing” when photographs of William and Kate were released meeting children separated by a chain link fence and also taking part in a military parade “dressed in white” with visual links to colonialism. Scobie provided insight into failings that lay within the Cambridge’s team on this subject: “The most important thing is to have people there who are actually mindful of what looks good and what doesn’t … I just think that that was lacking on this trip… There was no one there to identify [the fence photographs] as potentially problematic. Because we know the reality is that the couple were just trying to meet as many people as possible—there was nothing sinister behind those images—but it was the thoughtlessness.”
Had the tour been undertaken by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, would the reaction have been any different? Scobie continued that he believed the issue was bigger than the Sussex’s and that answers lay with the palace, adding: “I think we have seen in the past where a tour has been able to set the tone from the very beginning. I remember being in briefings for the Sussex’s tour of southern Africa and how it was Buckingham Palace staff who really went out of their way to say that this tour would be a little different. That the couple would be mindful of the politics within the local areas that they were visiting, that we wouldn’t be seeing state dinners, that there wouldn’t be the expensive wardrobes that you’re used to on a royal trip. So that was proof that at one point the palace did know how to make these things work in a modern environment.”
On William’s slavery-was-abhorrent speech: Scobie acknowledged that the prince was placed in a “tough position,” continuing: “For a member of the royal family to denounce slavery, to take ancestorally some sort of accountability for it and to apologize would also greatly affect the future of the royal family, because when you start apologizing or admitting that perhaps some of the wealth you have amassed within your family have come from such horrendous historical moments you’re going to be received with the calls of ‘give it back.’”
No charm: Scobie felt that the event as a whole lacked in the sensitivity needed during a modern tour of these areas, summing up his feelings with: “This tour was the charm offensive [and] it had been all offense, no charm.”
I think Scobie is being completely fair here, but I’m sure the Rota reporters will have their panties in a bunch. Scobie even gives the Cambridges an out to blame most of the mess on bad staff work, but of course if anyone goes too far in that direction, questions will be asked about why, exactly, William and Kate have an all-white staff, and why they’ve never thought to hire better people who would be thoughtful and forward-thinking about the optics of traveling to Belize, Jamaica and The Bahamas. Scobie’s reference to the Sussexes’ African tour is interesting too, because… the Sussexes weren’t part of Kensington Palace during that tour. They had their little off-shoot office in Buckingham Palace already by the fall of 2019. Meaning, Meghan and Harry were smart about the optics and they hired people who would show sensitivity. Meaning, KP’s mess is all its own, and William and Kate hire idiots.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Instar.
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North America Rights Only – Kingston, Jamaica -20220322-
Prince William joins young footballers on the football pitch during a visit to Trenchtown as Catherine Duchess of Cmabridge watches on day four of their tour of the Caribbean on behalf of the Queen to mark her Platinum Jubilee.
-PICTURED: Catherine Duchess of Cambridge
-PHOTO by: Jane Barlow/PA Images/INSTARimages.comDisclaimer:
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North America Rights Only – Kingston, Jamaica -20220324-Royal Visit to the Caribbean – Day 6
Prince William and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge attend the inaugural Commissioning Parade for service personnel from across the Caribbean who have recently completed the Caribbean Military Academy’s Officer Training Program, in Kingston, Jamaica, on day six of their tour of the Caribbean on behalf of the Queen to mark her Platinum Jubilee.-PICTURED: Prince William and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge
-PHOTO by: Jane Barlow/PA Images/INSTARimages.comDisclaimer:
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North America Rights Only – Kingston, Jamaica -20220322-
Prince William and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge meet locals during a visit Trench Town, the birthplace of reggae in Kingston, Jamaica, on day four of their tour of the Caribbean on behalf of the Queen to mark her Platinum Jubilee.
-PICTURED: Prince William and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge
-PHOTO by: Chris Jackson/PA Images/INSTARimages.comDisclaimer:
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North America Rights Only – Kingston, Jamaica -20220322-
Prince William and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge meet locals during a visit Trench Town, the birthplace of reggae in Kingston, Jamaica, on day four of their tour of the Caribbean on behalf of the Queen to mark her Platinum Jubilee.
-PICTURED: Catherine Duchess of Cambridge
-PHOTO by: Chris Jackson/PA Images/INSTARimages.comDisclaimer:
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North America Rights Only – Kingston, Jamaica -20220323-Royal Visit to the Caribbean – Day 5
The Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness and his wife Juliet with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during a meeting at his office in Kingston, Jamaica, on day five of their tour of the Caribbean on behalf of the Queen to mark her Platinum Jubilee-PICTURED: Catherine Duchess of Cambridge
-PHOTO by: Jane Barlow/PA Images/INSTARimages.comDisclaimer:
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North America Rights Only – Kingston, Jamaica -20220324-Royal Visit to the Caribbean – Day 6
Prince William and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge attend the inaugural Commissioning Parade for service personnel from across the Caribbean who have recently completed the Caribbean Military Academy’s Officer Training Program, in Kingston, Jamaica, on day six of their tour of the Caribbean on behalf of the Queen to mark her Platinum Jubilee.-PICTURED: Prince William and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge
-PHOTO by: Jane Barlow/PA Images/INSTARimages.comDisclaimer:
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North America Rights Only – Nassau, Bahamas -20220325-Royal Visit to the Caribbean – Day 7
The Duke Duchess of Cambridge in Nassau, Bahamas, on day seven of their tour of the Caribbean on behalf of the Queen to mark her Platinum Jubilee.-PICTURED: Catherine Duchess of Cambridge
-PHOTO by: PA IMAGES/INSTARimages.comDisclaimer:
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North America Rights Only – Caracol, Belize -20220321-
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge look out from the Caana at Caracol, an ancient Mayan archaeological site deep in the jungle in the Chiquibul Forest in Belize, during their tour of the Caribbean on behalf of the Queen to mark her Platinum Jubilee.
-PICTURED: Prince William, Catherine Duchess of Cambridge
-PHOTO by: INSTARimages.comDisclaimer:
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Nassau, BAHAMAS – Prince William and wife Kate Middleton, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge are treated to a parade at Nassau, Bahamas during the Royals 3rd and final stop on their 2022 Platinum Jubilee Caribbean Tour.
Pictured: Catherine Duchess of Cambridge – Kate Middleton
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North America Rights Only – Grand Bahama, Bahamas -20220326-
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during a visit to Daystar Evangelical Church Abaco in The Bahamas, to learn about the impact of Hurricane Dorian in 2019 and to see how communities are still being rebuilt, on day eight of their tour of the Caribbean on behalf of the Queen to mark her Platinum Jubilee. Abaco, a chain of islands and barrier cays in the northern Bahamas, was hit by winds of up to 185mph during Hurricane Dorian in 2019 leaving 75% of homes across the chain of islands damaged and resulting in tragic loss of life.
During a visit to Fish Fry in Abaco, a traditional Bahamian culinary/.
During a visit to the Memorial Wall to remember victims of the 2019 hurricane at the Memorial Garden in Abaco.
During a visit to Grand Bahama Children’s Home, which provides a home environment to vulnerable children who are not able to live with their families
-PICTURED: Catherine Duchess of Cambridge
-PHOTO by: INSTARimages.comDisclaimer:
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North America Rights Only – New Providence, Bahamas -20220325-The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attend a reception hosted by the Governor General of the Bahamas Sir Cornelius Alvin Smith, at the Baha Mar resort on the island of New Providence in the Bahamas to with meet community leaders and people from across the Bahamas’ many islands, on day seven of their tour of the Caribbean on behalf of the Queen to mark her Platinum Jubilee
-PICTURED: Catherine Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William
-PHOTO by: PA IMAGES/INSTARimages.comDisclaimer:
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North America Rights Only – London, UK -20220323-
Prince William and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge arrive for a dinner hosted by Patrick Allen, Governor General of Jamaica, at King’s House, in Kingston, Jamaica, on day five of the royal tour of the Caribbean on behalf of the Queen to mark her Platinum Jubilee.
-PICTURED: Prince William, Catherine Duchess of Cambridge, Patrick Allen, Lady Patricia Allen
-PHOTO by: PA Images/INSTARimages.comDisclaimer:
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