On Tuesday, ahead of his last-minute trip to the British Red Cross Headquarters in London, Prince William issued his second statement in 24 hours, about the ongoing Israel-Palestine crisis and humanitarian disaster. Here’s what William said:
“I remain deeply concerned about the terrible human cost of the conflict in the Middle East since the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct 7. Too many have been killed. I, like so many others, want to see an end to the fighting as soon as possible. There is a desperate need for increased humanitarian support to Gaza. It’s critical that aid gets in and the hostages are released.”
“Sometimes it is only when faced with the sheer scale of human suffering that the importance of permanent peace is brought home. Even in the darkest hour, we must not succumb to the counsel of despair. I continue to cling to the hope that a brighter future can be found, and I refuse to give up on that.”
It’s the kind of statement one would expect from a congressman, MP or even a president or prime minister. It’s not the kind of statement one would expect from the unelected, supposedly apolitical heir to the throne. I still sort of believe this is all about William’s brand new private secretary (who comes from the diplomatic world) and the new guy just couldn’t say no to William’s most blundering instincts. Becky English at the Mail had a curious piece, where she was clearly briefed by Kensington Palace (they’re in clean-up mode) but she also made some interesting little asides to suggest that all is not well. Some highlights:
William’s statement was welcomed by Downing Street: His statement was issued with the knowledge of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and welcomed by Downing Street, which said his ‘measured’ call for an end to the fighting was in line with the Government’s position.
Buckingham Palace is sitting back & watching this play out: Royal aides emphasised that it was the ‘extent of the human suffering that is on display which had led him to make the statement he has today’. They would not confirm whether it had the backing of the King. But father and son did meet in Norfolk at the weekend, where Charles is recuperating from cancer treatment. However, the statement also puts the heir to the throne at risk of accusations of meddling.
Political Peg: Sources close to the heir to the throne acknowledged that the issues surrounding the crisis are highly politicised. But they stressed that having undertaken a well-received visit to both Israel and the West Bank in 2018, William had been following events closely. They said he had thought ‘long and hard’ about whether to say anything, but felt the overwhelming humanitarian crisis unfolding in the region required him to speak out. Royal aides insisted that William’s words should not be taken as a call for an immediate ceasefire or a comment on the issue of a ‘two state’ solution, but as an instinctive reaction to monumental loss of life both as a human being and ‘as a father’.
This is what William will do when he’s king: Many royal insiders see the statement as an example of William’s distinct vision for the monarchy and his desire to speak his mind on the issues that matter. Sources close to the prince have long told the Mail that he believes the institution ‘needs to better explain its own thinking, particularly in terms of its place in the world’.
The Tories are mad: Tory peer Stewart Jackson described the Prince’s intervention as ‘ill-timed and ill-judged’. Conservative MP Andrew Percy, vice-chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on anti-Semitism, said: ‘The underlying principle of our constitutional monarchy is that members of the Royal Family do not engage in contentious political issues of the day on which there are divergent and strongly held beliefs in this country.’
The government is backing him, for now: No 10 was informed in advance of the prince’s statement, and the Prime Minister is said to have told colleagues that the points made by William reflected his own views. A Whitehall source said the prince’s comments would add momentum to the search for peace. ‘Whenever the Royals speak, people listen,’ the source said.
Everybody’s choosing their wording very carefully. The Sunak government was “informed” of William’s statement. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office had “knowledge” of the statement before its release. All of which means that Downing Street didn’t write it and neither did the Foreign Office. That means the whole thing was cooked up within Kensington Palace, with a private secretary who has only been on the job for a few days and a prince who surrounds himself with Tory handlers, sycophants and lazy dumbasses. Kensington Palace wouldn’t even say if King Charles had been informed, or even agreed with William’s statement. Well, at least no one is talking about William’s awful BAFTA gaffe anymore. Which might have honestly been the point. No one is talking about how Kate hasn’t been seen in two months either.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.