Prince William, Kate Middleton Cancel 1st Stop On Caribbean Tour Amid Protests

Prince William and Kate Middleton have been forced to make changes to their Caribbean tour after they were met with pushback from the residents of their first stop, a report says.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge kicked off their eight-day tour of Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas Saturday, starting with Belize.

However, the royal couple canceled their first outing at a sustainable cocoa farm in the foothills of the Maya Mountains in Belize Sunday amid protests about indigenous rights and colonialism, Us Weekly reported.

Indian Creek villagers staged a protest ahead of Prince William and Duchess Kate's arrival, calling the couple's appearance a "slap in the face," the report said.

"We don’t want them to land on our land, that's the message that we want to send," Indian Creek chairman Sebastian Shol told the Daily Mail Friday. "They could land anywhere but not on our land."

The protesters were also upset that the duke and duchess were permitted to use a football field for landing their helicopter.

Village youth leader Dionisio Shol claimed to the outlet that an organizer reached out to them regarding the use of the football field, but they were never told who would use it.

"For us, it really hits right at home because of the treatment. The organizer said we had to let them use the football field and that people were coming to our village and it had to look good. But they didn't want to divulge who. Eventually somebody said it was Prince William coming to our village," Dionisio said. "That's where the first issue arose. These are high-profile people, we respect them, but they also have to be giving respect to the community leaders. Giving community leaders commands did not sit well with the community."

Photos of locals holding placards made the rounds online. One read, "Prince William leave our land." Another read, "Prince William stop helping FFI [take] our land," referring to Flora and Fauna International, a conservation charity and a patronage of the Duke of Cambridge.

Kensington Palace confirmed in a statement to The Guardian Saturday that the farm visit in Belize was canceled and that the royal couple would be doing an alternative activity.

"We can confirm that due to sensitive issues involving the community in Indian Creek, the visit has been moved to a different location," the palace said. "Further details will be provided in due course."

The Belize government said that Indian Creek was only one of the sites being considered, and due to the issues in the village, they had to activate their contingency plan. "Another venue has been selected to showcase Maya family entrepreneurship in the cacao industry," the government added.

Prince William and Duchess Kate were scheduled to stay in Belize for three nights before moving on to Jamaica Tuesday. They will then visit the Bahamas from March 24 to 26.

The tour is being conducted on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II and sees Prince William and his wife bringing sentiments from the monarch to the people of the Caribbean, a royal source told People.

The tour was criticized by Windrush campaigners and Caribbean experts, who believe that the U.K. should help nations cut ties with the monarchy instead of convincing them to stay.

"Britain still has key legal and economic ties, which makes it difficult for a country like Jamaica to be truly independent," author and Windrush campaigner Patrick Vernon said. "This year is an opportunity for people to reflect: do we want to be a republic, and what does that mean? If Jamaica decided it did, there would be a domino effect on the rest of the English-speaking Caribbean."