Prince William, Kate Middleton Dance With Locals In Belize After Tour Protest [Watch]
KEY POINTS
- Prince William and Kate Middleton joined in the festivities at the cultural center of the Garifuna community in Hopkins, Belize
- They danced the local "punta" and sampled the Hudutu broth-style meal
- A local festival organizer who danced with William praised the "amazing couple"
Prince William and Kate Middleton are showing off their dance moves as they explore Belize.
On Saturday, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge kicked off their Caribbean tour on behalf of Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee year. Their first stop was Belize, where the royal couple appeared to have a blast dancing with the locals at the beach-front village of Hopkins Sunday, People reported.
Prince William and Middleton joined in the festivities at the cultural center of the Garifuna community in Belize, dancing the local "punta" and sampling the Hudutu broth-style meal as they immersed themselves in Garifuna culture.
The Times U.K. royal correspondent Roya Nikkhah shared on Twitter a clip of the royal couple showing off their moves on the dancefloor.
The Duke of Cambridge danced with a 57-year-old local woman, Laura Cacho. Middleton, meanwhile, smiled as she swayed her hips while holding her blue Tory Burch dress.
The dancing Duke and Duchess of Cambridge getting into the swing of things on Day 2 of #RoyalVisitBelize at the beachside village of Hopkins, where William and Kate had a taste of Garifuna culture and with some of the local community. Kate wearing @toryburch #RoyalTourCaribbean pic.twitter.com/nw2S1jl2R2
— Roya Nikkhah (@RoyaNikkhah) March 20, 2022
Twitter users had nothing but praise for Prince William and Middleton, with one royal fan commenting, "This is truly being a part of the people. The village will always remember their gracious, humble ways. You just gotta love them."
"The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are such a lovely couple, who treat everyone with respect and compassion!!" another wrote.
"What a lovely royal couple and the people in the village are so welcoming and happy. Beautiful visit," a third Twitter user wrote.
Royal fans were not the only ones who adored Prince William and Duchess Kate.
"They are an amazing couple and we would love them to come any time with their children Charlotte, George and Louis," Cacho, who danced with Prince William and helped host the visit, told People. "They really know how to dance. They took the culture from me and I didn't need to teach them. They're so good at it. They were excellent."
Cynthia Ellis-Topsy, ambassador at large for the Garifuna nation, said that she encouraged the royal couple to dance, remarking that it was "beautiful" to see Prince William dancing with the locals. She also shared that Middleton was "nervous" at first but "appreciated the children."
Ellis-Topsy also recalled Prince Harry's memorable visit to Belize in 2012.
"I said to William that when [his brother] Prince Harry came to Belize he was dancing and didn't need encouragement. He is a wild card. William laughed and said, 'Harry's not self-conscious,'" she told the outlet.
Prince William and Middleton's visit to Belize wasn't smooth sailing. Their first outing at a sustainable cocoa farm in Indian Creek was canceled amid local protests about colonialism.
"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 told The Guardian in a statement Saturday. "Further details will be provided in due course."
On Monday, Prince William and Duchess Kate are set to explore the Chiquibul Forest Reserve in central Belize where they will visit British armed forces on jungle training, Sky News reported.
The couple will then travel to Jamaica and the Bahamas later in the week as they continue their visit to the Caribbean.
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