The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had a jam-packed schedule of activities on the second day of their royal tour of Jamaica. Stepping out on Wednesday morning, the couple's first port of call was the Prime Minister's office, where they had a brief meeting with Prime Minister Andrew Holness and his wife Juliet, who is also an MP.
William and Kate arrived in Jamaica on Tuesday, having travelled from Belize, and were given a warm welcome by a line-up of dignitaries at Norman Manley International Airport. Their stay in the country so far has included a visit to Trench Town, the historic Kingston neighbourhood that was home to Bob Marley and where he wrote No Woman No Cry, as well as meeting some of Jamaica's top sports stars.
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The royals had an equally busy day ahead of them on Wednesday, culminating in a dinner hosted by the Governor General of Jamaica. See the best photos below…
HELLO!'s Royal Editor, Emily Nash, is on the ground with the Cambridges on their royal Caribbean tour.
WATCH: Prince William and Kate Middleton meet PM of Jamaica
Kate looked absolutely flawless as she arrived at the Prime Minister's office, as she styled out a white McQueen suit and a Ridley blouse.
William and Kate started their day with a visit to the Prime Minister's office in Jamaica House, Kingston. At 49, Mr Holness is the country's youngest leader to date and vowed to turn Jamaica from a constitutional monarchy into a republic during his election campaign.
He also served as prime minster from October 2011 to January 2012, having succeeded Bruce Golding, but lost to Portia Simpson-Miller in an early election in December 2011.
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He was elected to lead the country in 2016 and on taking office, said his government would introduce a bill to replace the Queen with "a non-executive president as head of state".
In 2020, the Labour Party won a landslide in another general election, giving him another term as prime minister, but a timeline for a referendum, required by law to make the change, has not yet been given.
Amendments to the Constitution of Jamaica must be approved by a two-thirds majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, but certain sections, including any relating to the monarchy, can only be amended with a referendum.
In the lobby, William and Kate were also introduced to Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Robert Morgan, Minister without Portfolio, Floyd Green, Minister without Portfolio, Office of the Prime Minister and Audrey Sewell, Permanent Secretary, Office of the Prime Minister.
After signing the visitors' book in the lobby, William and Kate were taken inside for a private meeting with Mr Holness, where they were presented with an official gift of Appleton Estate Ruby rum, created by the first female master blender in the world Dr Joy Spence - a blend of hand-selected rums aged between 35 and 45 years.
© Photo: Getty ImagesSpeaking to the couple, Andrew said: "We are very very happy to have you and I hope you will have seen the warm welcome of the people.
"Jamaica is a very free and liberal country and the people are very expressive and I'm certain that you will have seen the spectrum of expression yesterday.
"There are issues here which are, as you would know, unresolved, but your presence gives an opportunity for these issues to be placed in context, put front and centre and to be addressed as best we can.
"But Jamaica is, as you can see, a country that is very proud of its history, very proud of what we have achieved and we are moving on and we intend to attain, in short order, our developing goals and to fulfil our true ambitions… as an independent, developed, prosperous country."
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe royals were then whisked off to Shortwood Teacher's College in Kingston. Kate is passionate about the Early Years and children's development and was no doubt looking forward to this particular engagement.
The College is a recognised exemplar in its field, conducting research in early childhood education and care while also offering professional development programmes to the early childhood sector.
© Photo: Getty ImagesDuring their visit, William and Kate met students who are training to become early childhood education practitioners.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThey also visited the Shortwood Practising Primary and Infant School where they met children and parents, before meeting students and staff to hear about their work and studies at the College and learn of the significance that Jamaica places on early childhood development.
The Duchess hailed the work of teachers, who she said played a "crucial" role in shaping societies by nurturing the people children will become.
In a speech she said she "truly" believed that by recognising the "extraordinary impact" of early childhood, "we are on the cusp of one of the biggest opportunities for positive change in generations."
She added that teachers were "at the front line" of such work.
© Photo: Getty ImagesTheir third stop of the day took William and Kate to Spanish Town Hospital, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. The royals were given an insight into Jamaica's frontline response to COVID-19 by meeting doctors, nurses and other members of staff and hearing about their experiences.
William and Kate also visited the maternity and neo-natal units at the hospital.
