Who is Paying For Prince William And Kate Middleton's Caribbean Tour?
Prince William and Kate are set to begin their Caribbean tour this weekend, and as images of them being greeted by dignitaries and meeting the public in Belize, Jamaica, and the Bahamas are beamed across the world, one of the questions that may be asked about the trip is: Who is paying for all of this?
The cost of this tour is being borne jointly, according to a Kensington Palace source, by the host countries, the Sovereign Grant (money given to the monarchy by the British Treasury), and Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. A specific breakdown or further details have not been provided, but it’s possible that some figures will eventually find their way into the public domain through royal accounts or other means.
The question of payment for the visit has already been reported on in Jamaica’s media, with the Jamaican Observer reporting last month that Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister, Robert Morgan, told a press briefing that Jamaica would be responsible for some costs such as security but said that the Government was “not paying for the visit.” The disclosure, which tallies with the information from a royal source, highlights that the three Commonwealth realms being visited by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will not be asked to foot the bill for all the costs associated with the trip.
Recent visits to other Commonwealth realms (countries where the Queen is head of state), have seen host countries pay significant costs, including for royal travel and accommodation. When William and Kate went to Australia and New Zealand in 2014 with baby Prince George, a Freedom of Information request revealed that the visit cost the Australian taxpayer not far off half a million Australian dollars not including security. And when the family visited Canada in 2016, the Canadian taxpayers picked up a hefty bill.
The Cambridges’ upcoming tour has been described as a “charm offensive” by the couple to “shore up support” for the monarchy in the region. It comes just a few months after Barbados replaced the Queen as head of state, the first country to do so since 1992. The move has sparked discussions about whether other Caribbean nations will soon do the same.
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