Harry and Meghan pose with MP who is spearheading bid for Jamaica to become a republic: Marlene Malahoo Forte said the country should ‘sever ties’ with the monarchy as its future should be ‘in Jamaican hands’

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle cosied up at a film premiere last night to one of the Jamaican politicians leading the charge for the country to ditch the monarchy.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex joined Marlene Malahoo Forte, minister for legal and constitutional affairs, in Kingston to promote new Bob Marley film One Love.

It comes eight months after MP Mrs Forte said Jamaica could ‘sever ties’ with Britain’s monarchy by the end of 2024 and the nation’s future should be ‘in Jamaican hands’.

Mrs Forte later tweeted a photo of the trio, prompting an X user to say: ‘Even more hilarious: the person with them here is the minister in charge of changing the constitution and making us a republic.’ Ms Forte replied, saying: ‘This is #OneLove!

She also met Prince William and Kate during their visit in March 2022, saying at the time that they were both ‘very charming and extremely delightful to interact with’.

The Sussexes pose at the event last night with Marlene Malahoo Forte, Jamaica’s minister for legal and constitutional affairs, who said last year that Jamaica could soon ‘sever ties’ with the monarchy, because it was time for the nation’s future to be ‘in Jamaican hands’

Ms Forte tweeted a photo of her with Harry and Meghan, prompting an X user to say: ‘Even more hilarious: the person with them here is the minister in charge of changing the constitution and making us a republic.’ Ms Forte then responded, saying: ‘This is #OneLove!’

Marlene Malahoo Forte met Prince William and Kate during their visit in March 2022, saying at the time that they were both ‘very charming and extremely delightful to interact with’

During Harry and Meghan’s surprise appearance last night, they were also photographed with Jamaican prime minister Andrew Holness, who is pushing ahead with plans to make the nation a republic.

He told the now-Prince and Princess of Wales during their 2022 tour that his country is ‘moving on’ and intends to ‘fulfil our true ambitions and destiny as an independent, developed, prosperous country’.

Also at the time of that trip, Mrs Forte tweeted a picture of her meeting William and Kate, saying: ‘#RoyalVisitJamaica HRH the #DukeofCambridge asked me what my work involved as Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs. I will say this much: I found them both very charming and extremely delightful to interact with.’

Last May, Mrs Forte told Sky News ahead of the King’s Coronation that an ‘urgent’ referendum could be held as early as 2024 to ‘sever ties’ and remove Charles as Jamaica’s monarch.

She claimed that republicanism is ‘about us saying goodbye to a form of government that is linked to a painful past of colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade’.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness and his wife Juliet last night for the premiere of Bob Marley: One Love at the Carib Theatre in Kingston

The duke and duchess with Paramount president Brian Robbins and his wife Tracy James

Harry and Meghan sit in the theatre in Kingston yesterday as they attend the film premiere 

Mrs Forte said Jamaica was looking to write a new constitution, adding: ‘Time has come. Jamaica in Jamaican hands. 

‘We have to get it done, especially with the transition in the monarchy. My government is saying we have to do it now. Time to say goodbye.’

The former attorney general said: ‘A lot of Jamaicans had warm affection and identified with Queen Elizabeth II. When Jamaica became independent, Queen Elizabeth was already on the throne.

‘But they do not identify with King Charles. He is as foreign as it gets to us. Plain and simple.’

Mrs Forte also said Jamaica’s desire was partially influenced by the Royal family’s ‘own set of issues internally’ – adding that these ‘issues’ had been ‘playing out in the news’.

And she said William’s acknowledgment of slavery but lack of apology during the 2022 tour was ‘a step in the right direction, but not far enough at all’.

Mrs Forte was appointed minister of legal and constitutional affairs in January 2022, having previously been the attorney general, health minister and foreign affairs minister.

She has a law master’s degree from King’s College London as well as a master’s in public administration from Harvard.