A group which has won UN support for its campaign against Britain’s actions under colonial rule wrote to Prince William yesterday saying they had asked him for help because he loved Kenya, had offered to Kate there and that her grandmother the queen was in their country. when she ascended the throne 70 years ago.

William, who vowed to listen and serve the people of the Commonwealth after facing protests against colonialism, slavery and the monarchy during a troubled Caribbean tour in March, has yet to respond .

Kensington Palace had no comment last night after seeing the letter.

In it, Joel Kimutai Bosek, a Nairobi-based lawyer for the victims of the Kipsigis and Talai tribes in Kericho County, explained that the British seized their families’ land for the tea plantations which were eventually handed over to private companies and that they have never been able to find their old property after being beaten and mistreated.

Six UN special rapporteurs came out on their behalf last year, but the UK government has refused to acknowledge their case or meet with them, arguing that in 2013 it settled disputes arising from the Mau emergency. Mau from 1952-1963.

The Kipsigis and the Talai argue that the abuses and land thefts they suffered are entirely different and date from 1902 until Kenya’s independence in December 1963.

But Foreign Office officials have declined to meet some of the victims and their representatives in London this week or offer an alternative way to resolve the dispute, their lawyers say.

In their letter to William, they said: “Kenya is clearly a special place for you and your family.

You proposed to your wife there and when your grandmother became queen she was visiting Kenya – which at the time was one of the colonies.

They added: “We don’t want this to become a bitter conflict – we just want the wrongs committed against us to be recognized. An apology and a discussion of reparations would be the beginning of getting justice.”

“Many of our group are very old, so the urgency is paramount. We cannot allow another victim of this era to die still yearning for their dignity to be restored.

“As you prepare to celebrate your grandmother’s platinum jubilee, our elderly family members remember the pain of having their home and land taken away at the same time. We have very little to celebrate .

“We therefore ask that you do the right thing and support our quest for justice by making a public statement of acknowledgment of what we have suffered along with an apology and arrangement for appropriate reparations. It will be in our interest to all of us to move forward in this way towards a dignified and prosperous future together.