This week’s edition of the Jamaica Tory is not so much an argumentative piece, as it is a descriptive one, last week Jamaica played host to it's third royal visitor in three years , this time the royal in Question was His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent, son of the late Duke of Kent, Prince George and brother of the present Duke, Prince Edward. Prince Michael is also the grandson of His Late Majesty King George V and as such is first cousin to the present sovereign Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Prince Michael who serves as Royal Patron for the Commission for Global Road Safety arrived in Jamaica on the invitation of the National Road Safety Council which was celebrating it’s 20th anniversary. Among the activities he was involved in were weeklong celebrations of the NRCS anniversary, meetings with the Governor-General, Ministers of Government, government and opposition members of parliament and senior business leaders.
The Prince was also invited on his tour to visit several primary and high schools as well as the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies; such tours are common of royal visits over the years.
According to the NRSC their invitation of Prince Michael was meant to strengthen the bonds between the NRSC and its international partners, however that’s not the only bond that the royal visit will solidify, whether the NRSC intended to or not the visit also served to strengthen the bonds between Jamaica and the monarchy considering that this is the third royal visit in only three years, in 2011 there was the visit of Anne, Princess Royal, then in 2012 the Diamond Jubilee visit of Prince Henry which was keenly followed by media houses all over the world and now in 2013 it’s Prince Michael turn to see the Land of Wood and Water . Republicans love to point out that we hardly ever see the royals in Jamaica when the truth is that members of the royal family are frequent visitors to Jamaica, the Prince of Wales, the Earl of Wessex and the Princess Royal being the most recurrent all of whom have no doubt fallen deeply in love to the island to the point where they wanted to come again and again, bet the pro-republican socialist government i.e. the PNP no idea that the royal visit will cause all this to be seen, as a matter of fact unlike the visit of Prince Harry last year, there was not even a mention of that accursed word “republic” during Prince Michael ‘s visit which in my book is an excellent thing.
Like other members of the royal House of Windsor, the Prince, who was very well received by all whom he came in contact with, was filled with nothing but praise and admiration of the Jamaican people, reaffirming the lasting ties between Jamaica and the Crown showing indeed that bonds that bind us all are strong, indivisible and not so easily severed.
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