Prince William and Kate Middleton vow to carry out royal revolution and run affairs their way after Caribbean tour anger
WILLIAM and Kate have vowed to carry out a royal revolution and run affairs “The Cambridge Way” after criticism of their Caribbean tour.
The Duke and Duchess aim to “rip up the rulebook” and ditch old-fashioned methods to show they are modern royals.
Proving he has his own methods, William plans to have around 70 fewer aides when he succeeds Charles as Prince of Wales.
He will instead nearly halve the estimated 137 staff his dad relies on to create a more cost-effective and less formal team.
Wills and Kate will also employ a small staff working on “comfortable and credible” good causes — five or six in total.
There will also be shorter, solo trips such as Kate’s recent visit to Copenhagen, Denmark, with her Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.
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A source said: “William and Kate will modernise how they work. It’s a breath of fresh air.
“They were bruised by attacks that their Caribbean trip harked back to the colonial age. In future they will rip up the rule-book and do things ‘The Cambridge Way’. They’re trying to work out what that will look like.
“It is not a criticism of how it was done in the past. But times are changing.”
The recent tour — the first of the Platinum Jubilee — was organised between Kensington Palace and the governments of Belize, Jamaica and Bahamas.
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But it was mired in anti-royal protests and social media scorn.
On Saturday William issued a carefully-worded “reflection” saying the tour had “brought into sharper focus questions about the past and future”.
The couple held 30 engagements. But insiders said the two most controversial arose from requests by local leaders.
In Trench Town, Jamaica, the couple were pictured shaking hands of impoverished children held back by wire fences.
TOUR BACKLASH
Then in Kingston, they were blasted for standing in an Army Land Rover driven by a black chauffeur as they headed to salute military recruits.
We can reveal Wills and Kate were convinced by a general, proud that the vehicle had once carried the Queen and Prince Philip.
The Land Rover was acquired by the Jamaican Defence Force in 1962 and has just 2,342 kilometres on the clock.
The Queen and Philip were driven on the back of the vehicle on tour in 1994.
The insider said: “The Land Rover was forced upon William and Kate. Advisers knew it was going to be a problem but the general who ran the parade wanted to use it.”
Also on the tour, campaigners demanded an apology for colonialism and reparations for slavery from the Royal Family.
And Belize and Jamaica are ready to initiate plans to remove the Queen as head of state and become a republic.
But on their final day, in the Bahamas, crowds turned out with Union flags and holding welcome placards.
Hours later, William released his statement on the trip.
An insider said: “Everywhere they went the couple were greeted and welcomed with smiles and kindness. In return they were very much at their best.
“William doesn’t read social media but they were aware of what was going on. And wanted to clarify it.
“They decided to do the statement at the end of the week. They ran it past Buckingham Palace who didn’t think it was a problem.”
There are claims the statement was not run by the Foreign Office who are said to be “surprised” about the poor reception the trip attracted from some quarters.
JAMAICA’S ‘MOVING ON’
Insiders say the Queen would never have been as badly ambushed as Kate and Wills were when Jamaican PM Andrew Holness told them his nation would be “moving on”, during what was supposed to be a polite meet and greet.
Yesterday Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi praised William for “wise words” on the future of the Commonwealth.
In his statement, the Duke acknowledged the monarchy’s days in Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas may be numbered as he said the future “is for the people to decide upon”.
Asked if it was the beginning of the end for the association of nations, Mr Zahawi told Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday: “No, I think it will be the beginning of strengthening the Commonwealth.
“Because I think, actually, Prince William — and I know he believes deeply in the Commonwealth — is right to say that people have to decide independently if they want to be part of the Commonwealth family, and that decision will strengthen it not take away from it.
“So I think he’s being very wise and has chosen his words carefully.”
More royal tours are due in Platinum Jubilee year.
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Edward and Sophie will head to the Caribbean next month.
Princess Anne will be in Papua New Guinea, while Charles and Camilla are expected in Canada.
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