In March of 2022, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge set out on a week-long tour of the Caribbean, planning to stop off in multiple countries for public engagements. However, they were met by protests in Kingston, Jamaica. The protesters were calling for a public apology from the royal family for their role in the enslavement of the Jamaican people in the past, something which has never been offered before.

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Prince William and Kate Middleton - Caribbean, 2022 -

While both Prince Charles and Prince William have both denounced slavery and expressed pain and regret, they have always stopped short of acknowledging their family's role in the slave trade. William and Kate were forced to cancel one leg of their trip amid threats of further protests in Belize.

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Prince Charles - USA, 1981 -

Prince Charles visited the United States in 1981, at the height of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Irish nationalists were engaged in a campaign to regain control of the corner of Ireland that was, and still is, part of the UK. A small Irish terrorist group called the IRA were waging war through bombings and executions, while the British military was accused of using violent force against the general population of Northern Ireland.

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Prince Charles - USA, 1981 -

Unfortunately for Charles, he ran into a large contingency of Irish nationalist protesters when he arrived in New York. They waited for him outside the Royal Opera House where he was attending a ballet and shouted “Murderer” and “Free Ireland now!” Over 3,000 people remained outside the venue chanting “British terrorists! British terrorists!" during the performance.

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Queen Elizabeth II - Australia, 1970 -

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip went on a tour of Australia in 1970. They were traveling by train in New South Wales when they encountered a problem: a large log had been placed on the tracks. Luckily, the train was moving at a low speed and the conductor spotted the log in time to pull the brakes.

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Queen Elizabeth II - Australia, 1970 -

This meant that the situation was easily resolved, no one was harmed, and the royals carried on their journey. However, the royal security team and local police believed that this was an attempt to derail the train and kill the royal couple. The tracks had been checked just hours before the train reached that spot, so it seemed as if the log had been placed there on purpose by someone aware of their movements. The alleged plot may have worked had the train been moving at high speed.

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Queen Elizabeth II - New Zealand, 1981 -

This was an unlucky period for Queen Elizabeth. In June 1981, a teenage boy had fired shots at the Queen during the yearly Trooping the Colours ceremony in London. No harm was done, but yet another attempt on the Queen’s life occurred on tour just four months later.

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Queen Elizabeth II - New Zealand, 1981 -

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were visiting New Zealand when she was accosted by yet another troubled teen boy. He had hidden on the fifth floor of a building on the street where the royal couple was due to arrive. As they emerged from their car, he took a shot at them with a rifle from the fifth-floor window. Luckily, he wasn’t a very good shot and his weapon of choice couldn’t have reached them anyway. He was later arrested and put in a psychiatric facility.

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Queen Elizabeth II - New Zealand, 1986 -

In 1986, Queen Elizabeth visited New Zealand again. This time she was met with eggs rather than bullets. There was unrest in New Zealand at the time over the Treaty of Waitangi, the country’s founding document that outlined protection of the native Maori people but was not honored by the British government.

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Queen Elizabeth II - New Zealand, 1986 -

A number of protesters disguised themselves as crowd control guards, which allowed them to get close to the open-top car that Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were riding in. They started pelting eggs at the royal couple, with one hitting the car and one hitting the Queen’s coat.

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Edward VIII - Australia, 1920 -

In 1920, Edward VIII, who was the Prince of Wales at the time, went on a tour of Australia. Royal tours have long since involved a great deal of travel by air, sea, road, and rail. And despite all of the precautions that are taken to protect members of the royal family, accidents can still happen.

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Edward VIII - Australia, 1920 -

The Prince was traveling through a remote corner of Western Australia by train when it suddenly derailed and overturned. Thankfully, no one was hurt. In fact, Edward climbed out his carriage window holding a cocktail shaker, rather pleased about the excitement.

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Prince Charles - Australia, 1979 -

In 1979, Prince Charles was still an eligible young bachelor. Naturally, a single prince garnered a great deal of interest, particularly when he went abroad. This got him into trouble during a tour of Australia that year.

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Prince Charles - Australia, 1979 -

Charles was jogging along the beach wearing only a pair of swimming trunks, when suddenly a gorgeous young model in a bikini ran up to him, threw her arms around him, and gave him a kiss! The moment was captured on camera and appeared in every tabloid within a matter of days, no doubt taken wildly out of context. Some say it may have actually been a planned PR stunt to improve Charles’ rather stuffy, boring public image.

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Charles and Diana - Australia, 1983 -

In some ways, Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s Australian tour was a roaring success. In other, more subtle ways, it was a total disaster. The royal family was concerned about Diana’s ability to handle the grueling schedule and intense heat on the month-long tour. She had given birth to Prince William just nine months earlier and insisted on breaking protocol and bringing the baby along. Rumors of her eating disorder were already starting to circulate in the British tabloids.

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Charles and Diana - Australia, 1983 -

Much to everyone’s surprise, the shy, delicate Princess was a smash hit. The Australian public fell in love with her and she was mobbed by adoring crowds everywhere they went. The reaction to the new princess was compared to Beatlemania. The downside of her success is that she completely eclipsed Prince Charles. She later revealed that he was jealous, hurt, and resentful. In some ways, it was the beginning of the end for their fragile relationship.

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Charles and Diana - India, 1992 -

Almost 10 years later, the royal couple carried out a royal tour in India. By this time, their relationship was over in all but name and they were both engaged in extra-marital affairs. The rift between them was evident on this trip. One photo in particular struck a poignant note with the public: Diana sitting alone in front of the imposing Taj Mahal, a palace built by a king out of adoration for his wife.

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Prince Philip - anytime, anywhere -

The late Prince Philip was known for putting his foot in his mouth, but it was a particularly big problem on tour. He would go on stately visits around the world with Queen Elizabeth, meeting leaders and locals from countries with vastly different cultures. It seems that Philip did little to adapt to his new surroundings, or even think before he spoke.

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Prince Philip - Nigeria, 1956 -

In 1956, he met Nigeria’s president who was dressed in traditional ceremonial robes. Philip said to him, “You look like you are ready for bed.”

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Prince Philip - China, 1986 -

During a royal tour in China in 1986, Prince Philip met with a group of British students who were studying in the country. He was heard to comment to them, “If you stay here much longer you'll all be slitty-eyed."

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Prince Philip - Australia, 2002 -

Many years later, Prince Philip met with a group of indigenous Australians during a trip to the Tjapukai Aboriginal Park and said to one man, "Still throwing spears?"

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Edward VII - North America, 1860 -

In 1860, King Edward VII embarked on a highly successful tour of North America. He worked his way through Canada and the US and was welcomed and well-liked by his hosts. If anything, his popularity was the source of the problem!

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Edward VII - North America, 1860 -

While visiting New York, he attended a Grand Ball thrown at the Opera House. Despite the fact that 3,000 people received invitations to the event, 5,000 squeezed into the venue for a chance to rub shoulders with the King. Unfortunately, the excess weight caused the floor to cave in. However, carpenters were called in for an emergency fix, and the dancing got underway by midnight!

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Queen Elizabeth - Canada, 1964 -

When Queen Elizabeth toured Canada in 1964, an infamous protest in Quebec took a violent turn. There was a separatist movement fighting for sovereignty in Quebec at the time, which clashed with the royal visit.

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Queen Elizabeth - Canada, 1964 -

Large crowds turned out to protest as Queen Elizabeth’s car passed through the city. They turned their backs on her and chanted “Elizabeth go home!” The Quebec city police responded by beating back the crowd with truncheons and six people were injured in addition to 35 arrests. The incident became known as ‘Truncheon Saturday.’

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Princess Louise - Canada, 1880 -

Princess Louise was the daughter of Queen Victoria and held the position of vice-regal consort of Canada. On one visit to Canada in 1880, she was traveling through the snow on a sleigh when it overturned. She was dragged for 1,300 ft (400 m) before the horses stopped.

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Princess Louise - Canada, 1880 -

The Princess suffered a serious concussion and her earring was torn from her ear, ripping her earlobe in half. She took a long time to recover, but her injuries were downplayed in the press.

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Queen Elizabeth II - Kenya, 1952 -

When she was still just Princess Elizabeth, the young future queen went on an African tour. She was just 25 years old and already taking on immense responsibilities in her royal duties. This was perhaps because her father, George VI, was battling lung cancer and expected that she may have to hold the weight of the crown sooner than they would like.

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Queen Elizabeth II - Kenya, 1952 -

Elizabeth’s tour was going well, but at home her father’s health took a turn for the worst. He suffered a coronary thrombosis and died in the early hours of the morning on February 6. Elizabeth was enjoying the wilds of Kenya at the time, staying in a tree-top hotel and throwing bananas to monkeys as she ate her breakfast. The news reached her in the afternoon, and she immediately became queen, although her coronation wouldn’t take place for another year. She reportedly took a walk alone, and then returned to set her affairs in order. She canceled the rest of her tour and returned to London to mourn her father while starting a new life.

Sources: (Cosmopolitan) (BBC) (Vogue) (Insider) (Good Housekeeping)

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When royal tours go awry

The British royals have hundreds of years worth of mishaps to cringe over!

28/03/22 | StarsInsider

CELEBRITY British royal family

The royal tour has been a tradition of the British monarchy for many generations. They involve official stately visits by members of the royal family to other nations within the British Commonwealth and beyond, usually traveling to several cities or countries in one trip. While it may look like they're on holidays as they're photographed taking in the local sights, royal tours are actually all about publicity and diplomatic relations. The visiting royals must meet with local leaders, visit important institutions, take part in ceremonies, and be seen to take in the local culture. Each event is carefully planned, and they are constantly being ferried from one public engagement to the next while thousands of eyes watch their every move.

Royal tours are rife with accidents and blunders, as the tight-laced family deal with unexpected circumstances far outside of their comfort zone. Intrigued? Then click through this gallery to learn about royal tours that went completely off the rails (sometimes literally).