Meghan Markle, Prince Harry and Andrew Holness at the premiere of “Bob Marley: One Love” in Kingston, Jamaica on Jan. 23.Photo:Jason Koerner/Getty Images
Jason Koerner/Getty Images
Meghan MarkleandPrince Harry’s night out in Jamaica included meeting Prime Minister Andrew Holness.
On Tuesday night, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made asurprise appearanceat the premiere ofBob Marley: One Lovein Kingston and walked the carpet at the Carib 5 Theatre. Prince Harry, 39, and Meghan, 42, posed for photos, including some with the Jamaican prime ministerwho has been vocalabout the country’s intention to break away from the British monarchy.
Meghan and Harry snapped pictures with the prime minister, his wife Juliet, who is a member of the House of Representatives and its Speaker, and Olivia Grange, the Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport and a Member of Parliament.
Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Andrew Holness, Juliet Holness and Olivia Grange at the premiere of “Bob Marley: One Love” in Kingston, Jamaica on Jan. 23.Jason Koerner/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures
Jason Koerner/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures
“Witnessing the premiere of theBob Marley: One Love Movieright here in Jamaica was truly inspiring. Bob Marley’s legacy continues to resonate deeply with our nation,” Holnesswrote on Xon Wednesday. The recap captioned a quick video from the premiere, which showed him and his wife shaking hands with Prince Harry and Meghan as well as a glimpse into the theater.
During the event, Meghan and Harry also chatted with Bob Marley’s son, Ziggy, and posed for photos with Brian Robbins, the president and CEO of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon, and his wife Tracy James.
PEOPLE understands that the couple, longtime fans of Bob Marley’s music and message, were delighted to attend the film’s premiere after receiving an invite from the Robbins family, with whom they have a personal friendship.
Bob Marley: One Love, hitting theaters on Feb. 14, starsKingsley Ben-Adiras the legendary Jamaican singer and Lashana Lynch as his wife, Rita.
The movie “celebrates the life and music of an icon who inspired generations through his message of love and unity,” according toIMDb. “On the big screen for the first time, discover Bob’s powerful story of overcoming adversity and the journey behind his revolutionary music,” a synopsis says.
Jamaica is part of the Commonwealth, a voluntary association of 56 independent countries, almost all of which were formerly under British rule. The Caribbean country is one of 15 independent nations, known as Commonwealth realms, which counts the U.K.’s sovereign as their head of state. However, Holness has expressed plans to change that.
Prince Harry and Meghan previously traveled to Jamaica for the2017 weddingof Harry’s friend Tom “Skippy” Inskip to Lara Hughes-Young. Prince Harry alsovisited Jamaica in 2012as part of a Diamond Jubilee Tour, representing his grandmotherQueen Elizabethas she celebrated 60 years on the throne. His trip also included stops in Belize, the Bahamas and Brazil.
Prince WilliamandKate Middletonwere in the country more recently in 2022, where Holness spoke to them about hisvision for the futureapart from the crown.
William and Kate (now the Prince and Princess of Wales) visited Jamaica during what proved to be acontroversial tour of the Caribbeanon behalf of Queen Elizabeth in honor of her Platinum Jubilee, where their presence sparked anti-colonial protests in Belize and Jamaica. At the time, William’s grandmother was head of state of both countries (positions which have passed toKing Charles), and the movement to remove her as the Jamaican head of state was gaining traction. In a similar shift, Barbados became anindependent republicin 2021.
Prime Minister Holness told Prince William and Kate during their March 2022 visit, “We’re very, very happy to have you and we hope you’ve received a warm welcome of the people.”
Andrew Holness, Prince William and Kate Middleton in Kingston, Jamaica in March 2022.Pool/Samir Hussein/WireImage
Pool/Samir Hussein/WireImage
“Jamaica is a very free and liberal country and the people are very expressive, and I’m certain that you would have seen the spectrum of expressions yesterday,” Holness continued, referencing the royal couple’s welcome in Trench Town, which followed a demonstration calling for slave reparations from the British monarchy in the country’s capital.
“There are issues here, which as you know, are unresolved, but your presence gives us an opportunity for those issues to be placed in context, to be out front and center and to be addressed as best we can. But Jamaica is, as you would see, is a country that is proud of its history and very proud of what we have achieved,” he said. “And we’re moving on and we intend to… fulfill our true ambitions and destiny to become an independent, developed and prosperous country.”
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Holness is the youngest prime minister of Jamaica to date and vowed to transform Jamaica from a constitutional monarchy into a republic during his election campaign. He was elected to lead in 2016 and said upon taking office that his government would introduce a bill to replace the Queen with “a non-executive president as head of state.”
source: people.com
