A former chaplain to the Queen has spoken out amid Jamaica’s moves to ditch Elizabeth II as head of state and become a republic. The Bishop of Dover, Rose Hudson-Wilkin, has suggested that despite the debate on the Caribbean island over the future of the monarchy, the royal family is “beloved in Jamaica”, and Prince Harry in particular, whom Ms Hudson-Wilkin singled out as “a amazing.”
The Rt Revd Hudson-Wilkin told TimesRadio: “People are saying, actually, we want our head of state who is part of progress.
“It doesn’t mean we don’t love and respect her majesty anymore, they’re just saying, we want to grow up and I think it’s okay to grow up.
“I mean, we love the royal family in Jamaica, Prince Harry is absolutely gorgeous.
“He goes out there and has these dances with his wife and the crowd around him, having fun because the royal family is loved in Jamaica, we’re just saying, we’re having a grown-up conversation that says, actually, we want to be completely in charge of our destiny”.
Earlier this year, the Royal Family was criticized in Jamaica for a perceived lack of interest in the Caribbean country.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast in June 2022, one woman said: “The removal of the Queen will not be better.
“When the Queen came in when I was young, Jamaica was better.
“So I see no way to remove the Queen.
While another man insisted it is time for the country to turn the page: “We are now in our 60th year of independence. We have to move forward.”
Jamaica’s Ministry of Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Marlene Malahoo Forte, said at the time that the removal process would take place in “phases” before the island’s 2025 elections.
Ms Malahoo Forte said: “The aim is to eventually produce a new Constitution of Jamaica, adopted by the Parliament of Jamaica, to, among other things, establish the Republic of Jamaica as a parliamentary republic, replacing the constitutional monarchy and affirming self-determination ours and cultural heritage.
“I am pleased to advise this honorable House that the work to achieve this goal, being done in stages, has officially begun.”
She added: “The reform work that must be done to achieve the objective of a new constitution requires cooperation between the government and the parliamentary opposition, as well as the seal of the people.”
