Prince William plans to ‘rip up the rulebook’ and do things ‘the Cambridge Way’ for future royal engagements, reports say.
The Duke and Duchess bade farewell to the Caribbean on Sunday, following a controversial tour that was branded ‘a PR disaster’ and ‘tone deaf’.
The couple were met with protests during the trip and had to cancel visits due to severe backlash.
William did use one speech to express his ‘profound sorrow’ for the monarchy’s role in the ‘abhorrent’ slave trade – but critics said it fell short of a full apology.
Now, the Sun reports the Cambridges will make major changes after being ‘bruised’ by the tour.
A source told the newspaper: ‘William and Kate will modernise how they work. It’s a breath of fresh air. They were bruised by attacks that their Caribbean trip harked back to the colonial age.
‘In future they will rip up the rule-book and do things “The Cambridge Way”. They’re trying to work out what that will look like.
‘It is not a criticism of how it was done in the past. But times are changing.’
As part of the ‘royal reboot’, it is reported William will have 70 fewer aides when he succeeds Charles as Prince of Wales.
A ‘cost-effective’ team will effectively halve an estimated 137 staff members his father relies on.
The couple will focus on smaller, solo trips around Europe and closer to home.
The Sun also reports the Duke and Duchess will hire staff to work on five or six ‘comfortable and credible’ good causes.
The pair’s major controversies during the last week included a ‘tone-deaf’ visit to Trench Town, Bob Marley’s impoverished birthplace, where William and Kate shook hands with children through a metal wire fence.
There was also major backlash following their decision to ride in an Army Land Rover in Kingston, which critics said was an unhealthy reminder of ‘colonial’ ideals.
This weekend, the BBC’s royal correspondent Jonny Dymond said: ‘Times have changed. The Royal Family have in the past been pretty good at changing with them. But not on this tour.
‘And second chances are these days few and far between.’
Ras Iyah V, a leading member of Jamaica’s Rastafarian community, said the Royal Family still had apologies to make.
He said: ‘We can only forgive people who acknowledge that what they did was wrong and are willing to repair the breach of the wrongs they have committed.
‘And today the British monarchy has a lot of African artefacts in their possession – they still bathe in the wealth that was extracted out of the blood, sweat and tears and lives of our people and we have never been compensated for any form of enslavement.’
In a statement reflecting on the trip, William issued a measured outlook on the future of the Commonwealth.
He said the tour had brought ‘into even sharper focus’ questions about the future of Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas.
He added: ‘Catherine and I are committed to service. For us that’s not telling people what to do.
‘It is about serving and supporting them in whatever way they think best, by using the platform we are lucky to have.’
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