Slavery protesters target royal tour in St Vincent

When the Queen visited St Vincent and the Grenadines in 1985, she was met with a jamboree, the prime minister presented her with a commemorative gold coin and residents lined the streets waving flags.

During a trip to the Caribbean island nation on Saturday, her son and daughter in law have received a somewhat frostier welcome.

After a red carpet arrival in the capital Kingstown, to a steel band playing One Love by Bob Marley, the Earl and Countess of Wessex were confronted by protesters calling for slave trade reparations.

Idesha Jackson, 47, was among a crowd of about 20 in the farming village of Diamond, where Prince Edward had travelled to watch athletes training for the Commonwealth Games.

Theo Thomas, 69, who travelled to the protest from the Lowmans Hill community on the other side of the country criticised his government for permitting the visit.

Jomo Thomas, a former chair of the St Vincent and the Grenadines National Reparations Committee, was also among protesters. He called for reparations from Britain.

Last month the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge faced demonstrations in Jamaica and the Bahamas.

In the UK, the National Council of St Vincent and the Grenadines urged the royals to rethink future visits to the Caribbean.