KINGSTOWN (CU)_Over the past few weeks, members of the British Royal family have been travelling overseas, visiting Commonwealth countries in different parts of the world, to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee this year. In late-March, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge set out on a royal tour in the Caribbean, with visits to Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas. A few weeks later, Princess Anne and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, were on a royal visit in Papua New Guinea, when Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, announced plans to visit Canada in May. The Queen’s youngest child Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex have now joined this venture with their latest tour in the Caribbean.
The couple landed in Argyle International Airport in St Vincent and the Grenadines on Saturday, when they were greeted by scouts and girl guides, while Governor general Dame Susan Dougan and acting prime minister Montgomery Daniel were among those who were present to welcome them. During their stay, the couple met dancers, athletes and national birds, as they celebrated the Queen’s major milestone in the Caribbean Island.
Prince Edward visited the country’s national stadium, where he met athletes training for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and watched a T10 women’s cricket match, as well as a race held in honour of the Platinum Jubilee. Meanwhile, the Countess met with the Society of and for the Blind and the group Persons with Disabilities, in her role as a global ambassador for the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness. She also visited a community college in the island nation, where she watched a dance performance. After having lunch with the governor general and the islands’ acting prime minister, on Saturday, the couple visited the botanical gardens and planted a tree to mark Her Majesty’s 70-year reign.