THE Cambridges have been criticised over pictures from their tour of Jamaica in which they were pictured shaking hands with children through a wire fence and posing with a statue of Bob Marley.
Prince William and Kate Middleton were greeted with protests demanding reparations for the legacy of the British Empire and slavery when they landed in the Caribbean nation earlier this week.
They are on a tour to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee this year.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson told to apologise for 'racist' Spectator article about Jamaicans
Do Prince William and Kate employ even one person of colour in their PR depts and run the optics of such images below by them first?
— Malorie Blackman is away. (@malorieblackman) March 23, 2022
The photos of the royals being carried were taken on another tour a few years ago.
Retweeted for clarification. pic.twitter.com/Pfn6hujCuQ
But the tone of press pictures from the events they have attended has been criticised.
The acclaimed author Malorie Blackman – whose parents were both from Barbados – questioned whether any people of colour were employed in the couple’s public relations team.
READ MORE: Speculation grows that Jamaica will ditch Queen after William and Kate leave
The Noughts and Crosses writer tweeted: “Do Prince William and Kate employ even one person of colour in their PR depts and run the optics of such images below by them first?”
She also tweeted a picture from 2012 of the couple being carried on a sedan chair on a royal visit to Tuvalu which was criticised as being in poor taste at the time.
Other pictures show Kate and William visiting the former home of reggae legend Bob Marley which is now a museum.
They also played drums with musicians in the courtyard of the house.
One social media user posted a picture of Middleton smiling as she touched the hands of children behind the wire fence of a football pitch with the caption: “Who thought this was a good photo op?”
READ MORE: William and Kate in Jamaica: Royals face slavery protest
Another said: “This trip is becoming ever more embarrassing, ever more tone deaf, and ever more irrelevant.”
Who thought this was a good photo op? pic.twitter.com/AAQjLh3WrQ
— chris evans (@notcapnamerica) March 23, 2022
The picture shows the couple meeting local children at a football pitch in the Trench Town neighbourhood of the Jamaican capital Kingston.
It comes amid reports Jamaica - a former British colony that retains the Queen as its head of state - could become a republic soon.
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