Royals

Prince William inspects Belize Defence Force during Royal visit

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have arrived in Belize as part of a Royal tour to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

Prince William and Kate were welcomed by Belize's Governor General Froyla Tzalam as they stepped from the Voyager ministerial jet ahead of an official meeting with prime minister Johnny Briceno.

The Belize Defence Force formed a guard of honour to greet the couple and, after military tunes were played by the unit's band, William inspected the personnel.

Watch: Duke and Duchess of Cambridge present Shamrocks to Irish Guards on St Patrick's Day.

William and Kate's plane touched down in Belize after opposition from villagers, who cited a range of issues including objections to the couple's helicopter landing site, forced a Royal trip to a farm on Sunday to be scrapped.

The Duke and Duchess are set to travel to Jamaica next, visiting the Jamaica Defence Force, as well as celebrating the legacy of Bob Marley and other ground-breaking Jamaican musicians.

The tour will conclude in The Bahamas, where the pair will spend time with communities across a number of islands and experience the world-famous junkanoo parade.

A Kensington Palace spokeswoman said the couple were "very much looking forward to visiting the Caribbean region" and to have the opportunity to thank communities across Belize, Jamaica and The Bahamas for the support they had shown the Queen.

The COVID-19 response will also form part of the tour, with the Duke and Duchess looking to understand how the pandemic impacted the Caribbean.

The tour marks the first joint official overseas tour for Prince William and Kate since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It comes after the Duke and Duchess celebrated St Patrick's Day with the Irish Guards at a special parade in Aldershot.