William and Kate attend commissioning parade for Caribbean officer cadets
The Duke of Cambridge took the salute of the young men and women who will in future years lead troops in their homelands.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge bid farewell to Jamaica in an open-backed Land Rover – mirroring the Queen in her pomp.
William and Kate rode standing up in the red carpet-lined vehicle first used by the Queen in 1962 and in following tours of the Caribbean country.
The couple echoed scenes from a bygone era as they were driven past the stands of dignitaries and families who had watched the inaugural commissioning parade for dozens of Caribbean officer cadets.
The duke quoted reggae great Bob Marley when he told the young men and women stood on the parade ground in front of him: “Being asked to lead men and women through uncertainty and danger is daunting.
“‘You never know how strong you are, until being strong is your only choice’.”
The ceremonial events followed the duke’s denouncement of slavery as “abhorrent” during a speech on Wednesday evening when he said “it should never have happened”.
His comments followed days of protests during the couple’s tour of the Caribbean, with campaigners in Jamaica calling for reparations for slavery from the royal family.
William also expressed his “profound sorrow” at the forced transportation of millions of people from Africa to the Caribbean and North America – a trade which British monarchs either supported or profited from during the 17th and 18th centuries.
He also echoed the words of his father the Prince of Wales and described the slave trade as an “appalling atrocity” that “stains our history” and he went on to acknowledge Jamaica’s “pain”.
During the military event in Kingston, the duchess wore a striking Philip Treacy hat and an Alexander McQueen dress and watched from the stands as the duke, wearing the tropical no. 1 uniform of the Blues and Royals – a white jacket with his military cap and trousers – took the salute of the new officers.
Kate presented awards to two of the top officer cadets and William walked onto the windswept parade ground to inspect the men and women from countries like Barbados and Guyana – stopping to talk to some of them.