Prince William, Kate Middleton not welcome in Jamaica over Meghan Markle treatment

The royals' alleged treatment of Meghan Markle has not been forgotten in Jamaica, as protesters made known outside the British High Commission in Kingston. They waited for Prince William and Kate Middleton to arrive on Tuesday for the second leg of their Caribbean Commonwealth Tour.

Allegations of racism in The Firm brought by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex during their Oprah interview last year deeply affected the people on the island. The couple claimed that a senior royal raised concerns about the colour of their child's skin.

"Jamaicans were very torn up to hear about Harry and Meghan's issue, and Harry and Meghan's interview with Oprah Winfrey, and that has torn us," Jamaican attorney and reparations advocate Bert Samuels told Newsweek.

He added, "That's William's brother, that's his nephew, and for Harry to have been treated the way he was, and worse yet Meghan. The Jamaicans are very hurt by the treatment of an African American woman in that family."

Samuels believes that the Duke of Cambridge needs to address that concern. He continued, "William needs to speak to that when he comes and as it were, he should come here with an apology, not only for slavery but for the treatment of a black woman who had to run out of the palace with her husband. That's a strong issue and that's a fresh wound."

The displeasure with Prince William and Kate Middleton's arrival in Jamaica is said to be symbolic of the slavery the people experienced many thousands of years ago under the British monarchy. Samuels said there is no reason for Jamaicans to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's 70 years on the throne because "her leadership, and that of her predecessors, have perpetuated the greatest human tragedy in the history of humankind - that is chattled slavery for 300 years."

Thousands of Africans were shipped to Jamaica to work on sugar cane fields. It was only in 1833 that the British parliament abolished slavery. Slaveowners were compensated but not the slaves themselves.

Thus, locals in Jamaica are calling for reparation and want Prince William and Kate Middleton to deliver their message to Queen Elizabeth II. It is said that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's racism claims during their Oprah interview only exacerbated their animosity towards the British monarchy.