Prince who? Many locals couldn’t care less about William, Kate visit

As Jamaica prepares for the visit of British throne heir, Prince William, and his wife Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, many are unfazed by the pageantry and circumstance of the royal visit.

On Princess Street in downtown Kingston, vendors and other locals say they could not care less about the visit of the future King and Queen Consort as they embark on a Caribbean tour this weekend. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who are on an eight-day tour of the Caribbean, will arrive in the island Tuesday afternoon and depart on Thursday. They are celebrating the Queen's 70th anniversary on the throne.

While the Government has been making preparation to welcome the royals, ordinary Jamaicans such as Devon Clarke see no value in the representatives of Queen Elizabeth II setting foot on local soil.

"I was born before '62 and as far as I see, hearing about England and reading and looking into things, I don't care because we nuh have nuh privilege fi go England," Clarke said.

Jamaica gained independence from Britain in 1962 but has kept the Queen as head of state. The country's final court is the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and parliamentarians are required to pray for the "honour and happiness of the Queen" at the start of each sitting of the House of Representatives.

This week's royal visit also coincides with Jamaica's 60th year of Independence, and Clarke believes that William and Kate are trying to dissuade Jamaica from leaving the Commonwealth.

"I don't know if it's rumour, but I hear why they are coming here because you know we waah relinquish the Queen as our head. Somebody say it to me but me nuh hear it from no reliable source," the Kingston resident said.

Barbados, in November, ditched the Queen as its official head of state and became a republic. Jamaica's prime minister, Andrew Holness, has said that there is "no question that Jamaican has to become republic".

England's Daily Mail has speculated that Kate could be the "secret weapon" and "key to encouraging Jamaica to remain in the Commonwealth". However, judging by the comments of small business operators on Princess Street in downtown Kingston, the monarchy does not have any special place in their hearts.

"Dat nuh have nothing fi do with we cause dem nah come yah so," a salesperson told THE STAR. "Dem ago drive past yah so, so we nuh business wid dem."

"As a matter of fact, a better dem change di name [from Princess Street] ... Dem nah do nothing fi Princess Street. Dem nah fix di drain, dem nah fix di sidewalk. Is better dem did name di street Seaga Street and take off di Princess offa it, cause at least you see Seaga walk di street. Seaga, Manley Street, Dudus Street, yeah dem street name deh."

The woman argued that the royals may not even care to know where the streets in Jamaica that are named for the monarchy are located.

"Dem not even know seh a dem di street name after much less," Browning said.

Tallman, a stoic fellow, was annoyed with the suggestion that Jamaicans should care about the royal visit.

A better you gyaan yah baby," he said. "First thing to begin with, if dem do come pon Princess Dtreet, di car weh dem a come a guh black like a midnight."