Leave it to Elrica D’Oyen Gebert [one of the people I must thank for having an influence on my choice to pursue Caribbean Studies] to bring this quirky and intriguing item to our attention. The short article below focuses on the Lindo family’s history and contribution (the Lindo Wing) to St Mary’s Hospital, where the “royal baby” was born. From Portuga—through Spain and Costa Rica—to Jamaica’s sugar plantations and to England . . . the London Evening Standard explains:

One person who raised a glass last night to our future king — born like his father in the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital — is Blanche Blackwell, 100, a member of the Lindo family. The Lindos were benefactors of the private hospital when it was founded in 1845.

Born Blanche Lindo in December 1912 in Costa Rica, where the family traded in bananas, she is the mother of Bob Marley’s multi-millionaire record producer Chris Blackwell, owner of Island Records. She lives in Knightsbridge. Blanche was a friend of Ian Fleming at Goldeneye in Jamaica, a circle which included Princess Margaret, Sir Noël Coward and Errol Flynn.

Originally Sephardic Jews from Portugal, the Lindos moved to Spain, Venice, Amsterdam and Bordeaux before settling in Jamaica in 1765 and becoming involved in sugar plantations.

Perhaps a glass of rum would wet the royal baby’s head?

For original post, see http://www.standard.co.uk/news/londoners-diary/royal-babys-jamaican-link-8728498.html

For more on Blanche Blackwell, see http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/321342/Blanche-Blackwell-The-muse-who-inspired-Bond-and-Noel-Coward/