Royal couple to make short visit to Cayman

| 12/02/2023 | 39 Comments
The Earl and Countess of Wessex, Cayman News Service
The Earl and Countess of Wessex

(CNS): Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, will be visiting the Cayman Islands later this month for a two-night stay as part of a regional trip. The prince will spend time on Little Cayman in celebration of the 20th anniversary of his patronage of the Central Caribbean Marine Institute (CCMI) and will launch its Coral Fund. Premier Wayne Panton will host a lunch for the prince on Little Cayman to discuss climate change and sustainability.

King Charles III’s youngest brother and thirteenth in line to the throne will later spend time with the Cayman Islands Coast Guard, inspect a guard of honour from the Cayman Islands Cadet Corps and see the Cayman Islands Regiment demonstrate their disaster resilience response.

Meanwhile, the countess, who is the Global Ambassador of 100 Women in Finance, will support their causes during the visit. She will also formally open the Agricultural Show on Ash Wednesday, 22 February, by ringing the cowbell before taking a tour, accompanied by the premier.

She will also visit the YMCA Field of Dreams in George Town to meet children attending the mid-term break camp. The couple will be meeting with Gold Duke of Edinburgh Awardees before departing on the next leg of their trip.

Governor Martyn Roper, who will host an invitation-only reception for the couple on their arrival, said that they were “visiting the Cayman Islands not only to support two excellent charities that enjoy their patronage, but to also spend time meeting our community.”

He said that the Agricultural Show would be an opportunity for the countess “to talk to people from different districts and learn more about Caymanian culture”. Saying he was pleased that Prince Edward was visiting Little Cayman as well as Grand Cayman, he added, “I know the real affection that Caymanians feel towards the Royal Family and the visit is an opportunity to celebrate our links with the UK and showcase what our islands have to offer.”

The governor, who will be leaving Cayman next month, said his time began with a royal visit by King Charles, then Prince of Wales, and he looked forward to the visit from his brother.

Noting that this year marks the 54th Cayman Islands Agricultural Show, Panton said that Cayman was “honoured” that the countess “is interested in learning about Caymanian agriculture and our youth development initiatives” and thanked the prince “for supporting CCMI and his openness to hearing about our climate resiliency framework”. The premier said he was confident the visit would “be forever cherished and fondly remembered”.

This will be Prince Edward’s sixth visit to Cayman. The last time was in 2016, when he and the countess, who was paying her first visit, attended an event at the CCMI.


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Comments (39)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Have they applied for and been granted temporary work permits, as required by law?

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  2. anonymous says:

    All i ever hear is talk about climate resiliency – Wayne heading over to LC on his 60 foot gas guzzling boat? or flying dozens of people over and burning up tax payers money on unnecessary flights? All of it is a waste of resources and idle talk about things that will never happen.

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  3. NO MORE TEA & CRUMPETS says:

    Are we to rejoice in the coming of these symbols of a brutal and irrelevant institution— the authors and perfecters of global white supremacy? I’m unsure how many resources will be allocated to host these D-list royals. Still, everyone with half a brain knows that such resources, however marginal, could be applied to numerous other worthy government projects that will benefit the people of the Cayman Islands—residents and Caymanians alike. For example, is there any movement by this Government on addressing the dump that is a constant public health crisis leaching unknown toxins into the ground and diminishing the air quality of Grand Cayman with every burn?

    Do you think all those respiratory illnesses, allergies, and asthma attacks we see on the rise are unrelated to air quality and unaddressed environmental issues on this small Island?

    Let me not digress.

    Cayman is a British Overseas Territory. Yes. I get it. We cannot divorce ourselves from Britannia without independence. But let’s stop pretending these royal visits benefits the Islands in any way. Or makes us unique. Across the Caribbean former colonies are removing the British as head of state. They are petitioning for reparations for 500 years of enslavement. And while the Cayman Islands did not have a brutal plantocracy like Jamaica or Barbados, more than half of our population are descendants of enslaved Africans that led a sub-human existence for centuries to clothe and jewel ugly kings and queens and build cities from London to Glasgow and enrich families who were still compensated for a loss of “property,” i.e., enslaving human lives, until 2015.

    And instead of having royals pop over for a visit to preach to us about climate change or whatever else—British colonialization and industrialization of more than half the world helped create the climate crisis— why not ask them about reparations? Or have them talk about how Prince Andy has skulked away from any real consequences for sleeping with an underaged girl. Or why Queen Elizabeth banned any person of color from being hired at the Palace, calling them “coloured immigrants?” Or why the royal family supports NGOs who kick indigenous Africans off their land under the guise of conservation while at the same time promoting trophy hunting for white foreigners?

    Is any journalist on Island willing to ask these hard questions or others?

    These conversations may be relevant to our times, not happy photo-ops of tea and crumpets at the Grounds.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Reparations for people with one of the highest standards of living in the world. Mkay.

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      • BRAINWASH EDUCATION MADE YOU FOOL-FOOL says:

        Yes, of course you think reparations are about economics. That figures. Do some reading and educate yourself. Brainwash education has made you a fool.

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    • Anonymous says:

      You’re right more than half of our population are descendants of slaves since we are now dominated by Jamaicans.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Man them downvotes say all that needs to be squid.

    • Anonymous says:

      As a multi-generational Caymanian told me .. we never have no slavery …

      #rollseyes … its a pity it wasn’t an island-wide tour, I’m sure roads other than Agricola Drive needed paving

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    • Anonymous says:

      Can’t lead themselves so don’t see how they are going to lead us. What have they ever done for Cayman anyway. Case in point is Hurricane IVAN, they came, they observed we had our recovery in true Cayman self-sufficient manner in hand and had our own plan we had developed over decades, and then left. Then after some years came back with a BOT plan. Totally useless.

  4. Anonymous says:

    Any updates on that ‘Plant a tree for the Jubilee’ initiative Mr Premiere ?

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  5. Anonymous says:

    Do we get a day off? Otherwise, this is of no interest to anyone. My street better not be jammed as well when these bozos attend the agricultural show.

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  6. Anonymous says:

    Who cares? They are irrelevant! Outdated foolishness. All a facade!

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  7. Anonymous says:

    Huge welcome to Prince Edward and Countess Sophie!

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  8. Anonymous says:

    Who?

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  9. Anonymous says:

    ‘Premier Wayne Panton will host a lunch for the prince on Little Cayman to discuss climate change and sustainability.’

    Yeah because there’s certainly no ******* point in doing it on the facade of your lip service here any more is there Wayne.

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  10. Anonymous says:

    What a bunch of negative Nancys. For goodness sake stop being so mean, negative and miserable people.

    Welcome to the Cayman Islands. Ignore the negative people. Probably expats.

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    • Anonymous says:

      As much as I loved the late Queen Elizabeth II, I can’t muster any enthusiasm for this visit. I see very little or no benefit to the Cayman Islands, which will have to spend unnecessarily at a time of financial difficulty for Caymanians as a whole, not to mention the UK itself.

      As for the Governor gushing about Charles starting HE’s tour of service and Edward ending it, I hope he gets the CVO for arrangements for the visit to which he will contribute very little.

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  11. Anonymous says:

    Prince and Countess, just counting.

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  12. Anonymous says:

    They stop by to promote some charities and y’all get all disgruntled. Lol.

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  13. Anonymous says:

    Are cows bothered by cowbells?
    It really is beautiful. To everybody except the cows, that is. It turns out cowbells make cows pretty miserable. A new study from researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich found that cows wearing the five-and-a-half pound bells ate and chewed less than cows without the bells.Sep 25, 2014

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  14. Anonymous says:

    Noting that this year marks the 54th Cayman Islands Agricultural Show, Panton said that Cayman was “honoured” that the countess “is interested in learning about Caymanian agriculture and our youth development initiatives” and thanked the prince “for supporting CCMI and his openness to hearing about our climate resiliency framework”. The premier said he was confident the visit would “be forever cherished and fondly remembered”.

    Cayman agriculture?

    What is ‘our’ climate resiliency framework?

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    • Anonymous says:

      Among the produce and livestock, there are both best housewife and baby pageants planned to run concurrent with best cow and pig contests, if you can believe it. From the misogynistic dinosaur mind of Jay Ebanks and the UDP.

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  15. Anonymous says:

    Welcome ! Have a great visit.

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  16. Anonymous says:

    She will also formally open the Agricultural Show on Ash Wednesday, 22 February, by ringing the cowbell before taking a tour, accompanied by the premier.

    Guess the nurses + services in England, Ukraine, Turkey, and the animals in Cayman will jump for joy at the ringing of the cowbell in Cayman!

    Sorry…what year is this?

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  17. Anonymous says:

    Meanwhile, the countess, who is the Global Ambassador of 100 Women in Finance, will support their causes during the visit.

    LMAO

    Which causes? Pay your nurses in your own!

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  18. Anonymous says:

    If any of them had some kind of conscience, they would have put a family in real need on that plane and paid from their own millions pounds pockets!

    When will these people realise, you are not relevant, give your trip to a family that needs it!

    Disgusting!

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  19. Anonymous says:

    It’s the Dart Field of Dreams actually.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Man, I still call it the Sears tower in Chicago. Who cares???

      Smith’s Cove… you call it Smith’s Barcadere?

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  20. Anonymous says:

    Couldn’t use zoom? Carbon footprint and all that.

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