Duke and Duchess aim to MODERNISE the Royal Family after intense criticism - “'Out of date, out of touch, too formal and stuffy.”
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According to a royal source, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge want to be addressed by their first names and NOT their titles after their tour of the Caribbean was met with intense criticism.
After their Belize, Jamaica, and the Bahamas trip was riddled with protests, Prince William and Kate Middleton decided it’s time to scrap ‘stuffy’ formalities, including bows, curtsies, and their formal titles – so they would be known as simply William and Kate.
Their disastrous eight-day trip came off as tone-deaf to modern sensibilities, being a major motivation for the switch. One royal source explained: “When the team arrived back in London the couple had a debrief with aides. They went over everything and pinpointed specific things that went wrong and how to improve moving forward.”
“The general consensus was that the tour seemed out of date, out of touch, too formal and stuffy. They want to be more approachable, less formal, less stuffy and breakaway from a lot of the tradition.”
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“So now it's more ‘Wills and Kate’ instead of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge... ‘Just call me Wills’ type of thing. They want to try to avoid the bows and curtsies in public, be more approachable, less formal, less stuffy, and break away from a lot of the tradition and focus on a modern monarchy.”
Royal sources also said the Prince is 'determined' to modernise the institution and start veering away from the rules after struggling to 'move on' from bad press.
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This followed after the Queen proceeded with slimming down the Monarchy and the Palace announced that only senior Royals (which do not include Prince Harry, Meghan, and Prince Andrew) will appear on the palace balcony for the showpiece Platinum Jubilee celebration.
A palace spokesman announced: “The Queen has decided that this year's traditional Trooping the Colour balcony appearance on Thursday, June 2 will be limited to Her Majesty and those members of the royal family who are currently undertaking official public duties on behalf of the Queen.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed that they would attend regardless along with their children for the Jubilee next month – in an announcement made only a few minutes after the palace's own statement.
The future of the monarchy and the Commonwealth faced massive backlash after the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's eight-day tour of the Caribbean. It was met with such intense scrutiny that their tour was deemed ‘an embarrassing blast from the past’.
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It has been reported that the Duke of Cambridge had 'abrupt' talks with aides about the 'haphazard planning' of the tour. The Mirror also claimed that the pair personally interviewed two 'star' people to lead a 'new-look communications team'.
The candidates, described as a man and a woman both in their 30s and former civil servants, were rejected as they were 'not being anywhere close to it'.
One source shared: 'It is pretty clear that the Cambridge's need a drastic rethink. They are asking themselves whether there is enough diversity in their team – and they already know the answers.”
Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu deemed the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's trip as an 'embarrassment to the British monarchy'.
“Quite frankly these royal tours that we've seen to date are an embarrassment to the British monarchy. However, if the royal tour was one that speaks to what many of these Afro-Caribbean nations are seeking to address, which is truth, reconciliation and justice, then they need to get on board those tours and make them work.”
“But if the purpose of the trip is like what we've seen, which is basically a continuation of representing the legacy of the British Empire, then absolutely yes, these tours should just end.”
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There were undeniable imperialistic undertones as the couple shook hands with well-wishers standing behind a metal cage fence in Jamaica, just as the Queen did 60 years ago.
Demonstrators accused them of thriving on the 'blood, tears, and sweat' of slaves, while in the Bahamas, they were called to acknowledge that the British economy was 'built on the backs' of past Bahamians and to compensate for their struggles.
During their visit, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness told the Duke and Duchess that his country wanted to break free from the Commonwealth and address “unresolved” issues. But Prince William did not address these calls to remove the Queen as head of state in a speech at the governor general’s residence.
However, he did say he agreed with a declaration made by his father, Prince Charles, about how “the appalling atrocity of slavery forever stained our history”.
William also expressed his “profound sorrow” for the institution of slavery, which he added, “should never have existed”.
What are your thoughts on the Duke and Duchess’ desire to modernise the Royal Family? Share them with us in the comments!
Want to get a glimpse of Prince William’s speech? Watch the video below:
Video Credit: @TODAY
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