Prince William, the Prince of Wales, has found himself at the center of criticism. Now, he is accused of using one of his royal kids as a deflection from social media commentary.
Prince William is being called out for not flying to Australia for the Lionesses' World Cup final.
William is president of the Football Association, and for the first time in 57 years, England has a team at the World Cup finals.
The World Cup is being held in Australia this year, but William isn’t attending. And his decision has resulted in a lot of criticism, given it’s one of his roles as a working royal to support his patronage, the Football Association.
William opted to stay home, despite other high-profile people choosing to attend.
According to the BBC, Queen Letizia of Spain flew to Australia to cheer on their football team, and her decision is making it more obvious that William isn’t there.
The speculated reason for why William didn’t take time away to cheer the team on in person isn’t a good look.
He’s being accused of making time or taking this event seriously because strictly because it’s the women’s team that is in the finals.
“By choosing to stay at home this Sunday and watch the Women's World Cup final on the telly, William has made the biggest blunder of his brief time in the number 2 Royal Job,” the Daily Mail reported.
“He seems to have forgotten that, as President of the Football Association, he must treat all his subjects – and that means male and female players – with equal respect.
Kensington Palace released a statement to explain why William isn’t attending in person.
“It is understood he made the decision to avoid making long-distance flights for a very short stay in Australia,” the BBC reported.
“The prince has made tackling climate change one of his priorities and is believed to be concerned about the impact of such a journey."
That excuse makes sense because one of the prince’s causes he’s very vocal about is reducing carbon emissions, but the criticism and speculation on why he’s not there in person continued to grow.
William has ignored the chatter, which began days ago, until now.
On August 19, Prince William posted a video to his social media channels, not to address the criticism but to wish the team well.
“Lionesses want to wish you a huge good luck for tomorrow. We’re sorry we can’t be there in person,” he said in a video that also featured his daughter, Princess Charlotte.
“But we’re so proud of everything you’ve achieved and the millions you’ve inspired here and around the world,” he added. “So go out there tomorrow and really enjoy yourselves.”
Charlotte, 8, added, “Good luck, Lionesses!”
The video backfired, at least for some people, who are now even more upset with the prince.
The comments section filled with people on all sides of the argument. There were a lot of upset people writing about how disappointed they are that William isn’t there in person.
“Very disappointed that the British Royal family aren't in Australia supporting the Lionesses, unlike the Spanish Royal family!!” one criticizer wrote.
Others defended William, saying he would be lambasted if he did attend.
“Full support for Prince William. He created the Earthshot Prize for a reason,” shared someone else. “And the lionesses gave their approval for his decision, so you literally have nothing to say.”
For others, the message was a thinly veiled attempt to smooth over the hate William’s received over the past few days.
Now, the royal stands accused of using his 8-year-old daughter as a “prop” to deflect from the concerns of others.
“Hey maybe don’t use your daughter as a prop when you’ve been called out for not showing up to support the national team??” one person wrote.
“This post sends totally the wrong message. You being there supporting our groundbreaking women would send the strongest message that the monarchy are leading the change for equality for women,” someone else wrote, asking why it was just Charlotte in the video.
As it stands, people who were criticizing William for not attending were less than happy with his attempt to make it right.
England is set to play Spain at 11 a.m. UK time August 20 in the Women's World Cup 2023 final.
