Prince William & Kate Arrive in Belize, Meets with PM & Special Envoy

After days of excitement, the three-day Royal Visit is in full swing in Belize. At this hour there is a reception being held at Cahal Pech. This is the final event of the tour which began on Saturday with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Katherine, touching down at the Philip Goldson International Airport. Belize is the first stop on the couple’s Caribbean Tour to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee for Queen Elizabeth the second. She is commemorating a milestone of being the head of the monarch for seventy years. As the media stood watch for the arrival, anxiety quickly shifted to a sense of pride reminiscent of the royal visit by Prince Harry back in 2012 for the Diamond Jubilee. First to alight the United Kingdom aircraft were the forty-plus U.K. media personnel who are documenting the tour. Shortly thereafter, Their Royal Highnesses were officially invited onto Belizean soil by Chief of Protocol, C.E.O. in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Amalia Mai. They were then welcomed by the Queen’s representative in Belize, Her Excellency Froyla T’zalam. Prince William was escorted to a dais for a royal gun salute and the national anthem was played before he inspected the Guard of Honour. A brief chat was held with dignitaries including the Foreign Affairs Minister Eamon Courtenay and the British High Commissioner to Belize, Claire Evans. The royal couple were escorted via a motorcade to the Laing Building for a meeting with Prime Minister John Briceño and Special Envoy for Families and Children, Rossana Briceño. There they met in closed session for about thirty minutes. And after a brief photo op, the royal couple were escorted from the area. During their visit, the Duke and Duchess’ official mode of transportation is by helicopter, but some shorter legs they did were by Land-rover.