Andrew Holness, the Jamaican Prime Minister, spoke to British royals Prince William and Kate and said that the Caribbean nation will be moving forward to severe ties with the monarchy and will become an “independent, developed, prosperous country.” The news comes months after Barbados, another country in the region, announced its separation from the crown in November 2021.

The Caribbean island nation of Barbados severed centuries-old ties to the British monarchy, ditching Queen Elizabeth II as head of state and declaring itself the world’s newest republic.

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“We are moving on,” Prime Minister Holness said. “We intend to…fulfill our true ambitions and destiny as an independent, developed, prosperous country”, according to reports from Associated Press.

While meeting Prince William and Kate at a presser, Holness said that there were “unresolved” matters that the two nations continue to share. The royal couple, however, did not react to the statements and simply nodded. 

Jamaica gained independence from the British empire in August 1962 after being ruled by the crown for more than 300 years. The nation continued to be under the British commonwealth. 

The phrase “Seh Yuh Sorry” echoed outside the British High Commission in Kingston on Tuesday and several people stood in support of the announcement and urged an official apology from the crown for practicing slavery.

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Prince William, while speaking at the governor general’s residence, came close to apologising and said he agreed with his father, who said “the appalling atrocity of slavery forever stains our history”, according to reports from Reuters. He also expressed “profound sorrow” about the existence of slavery.

Jamaican government officials have previously hinted at withdrawing from the crown and said that officials are researching the process of revamping the constitution to become a republic, steps that have previously been taken by Barbados in late 2021.