Prince William and Kate Middleton are cancelling one of the stops on their Caribbean tour.
The couple had planned a visit to a cocoa farms in the Maya Mountains in Belize, but were forced to put the trip on pause when villagers staged a protest about colonialism and the royal’s use of a football field in landing their helicopter.
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According to People, the local Q’eqehi Maya people and the conservation group Flora and Fauna International have reportedly been in a dispute over the rights to 12,000 acres of land.
On Friday (March 18), villagers in Indian Creek were seen with signs that read, “Prince William leave our land.” Sebastian Shol, chairman of Indian Creek village, told the Daily Mail that the royals “could land anywhere but not on our land.”
Village youth leader Dionisio Shol added, “For us, it really hits home because of the treatment. The organizer said we had to let them use the football field and that people were coming to our village and it had to look good. Giving community leaders commands did not sit well with the community.”
A source told People that the trip had been canceled for “sensitive issues” involving the local community and the couple will be visiting a different location.
“Indian Creek was one of several sites being considered. Due to issues in the village, the Government of Belize activated its contingency planning and another venue has been selected to showcase Maya family entrepreneurship in the cacao industry,” the Government of Belize said in a statement.
In case you missed it, there was a major controversy over Prince William‘s statement about the war in Ukraine.