Prince Edward and the Countess of Wessex have cancelled part of their upcoming royal tour of the Caribbean at short notice.

The couple will no longer be visiting Grenada as part of a six-day trip – beginning on Friday – in celebration of the Queen’s platinum jubilee.

The country was removed from the itinerary on Thursday, though no official explanation for the change was given by Buckingham Palace.

The decision was made following consultation with the government of Grenada and on the advice of the governor general.

The changed plans come days after fresh details emerged regarding Britain’s role in the enslavement of Black people in its former colony.

Research commissioned by the Bank of England in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests has revealed that ownership of two plantations and 599 people in Grenada was transferred to the financial institution in the early 1770s.

The names of the 599 enslaved people can be viewed at a free exhibition, launched last week, at the bank’s museum on Threadneedle Street in central London.

Though the Bank of England has previously apologised for its historical links to the slave trade, the revelation that it directly owned Black people has caused upset among the Caribbean diaspora.

In particular the descendants of those who were enslaved under the regime which dealt in the trade of Africans.

© Provided by The Independent The Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park, Grenada, was designed by British sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor and is thought to be a tribute to enslaved Black people (Supplied)

In consultation with the government of Grenada and on the advice of the Governor General, The Earl and Countess of Wessex’s visit to Grenada has been postponed, it is understood, though they hope to visit at a later date.