Prince William‘s decision to opt out of attending the Women’s World Cup final to watch England’s Lionesses play has turned out to be a PR nightmare for the royal family. Even though he is the Football Association president, fans have heard the excuses and none of them are adding up. It’s making even the most loyal royalist start to question the relevancy of the monarchy when the Prince of Wales couldn’t be bothered to leave his vacation for a few days to cheer on such a historic event.
William’s excuses have ranged from spending time with his family to the worrying about his carbon footprint in traveling to Australia, and now, he’s even saying he didn’t want to visit the country ahead of his father, King Charles III’s official tour. Let’s just say, it has opened up a can of worms filled with criticism. “The primary impact of King Charles not supporting the Lionesses, and the PR stunt played by Prince William using Charlotte to garner public favor when delivering an unpalatable message, is that it calls into question the role of the monarchy in contemporary Britain,” Leah Brown, founder and CEO of Broadstairs Consulting told the Express.
Brown found it “disappointing” that the women’s team had “no state support” and it was the Queen of Spain who stepped in to offer comfort when they lost the title. “Charity causes and investitures aside, the idea that the royals are anything other than performative suggests this event ought to have been attended at least by a female royal representative,” Brown added. She thinks it was a missed opportunity for the royal family to make a stance about the importance of not only women’s sports but the monarchy’s relevancy in modern times.
“Ultimately it is short-sighted for King Charles and Prince William to deprioritize attendance,” she summed up. “The Women’s World Cup was the perfect opportunity to make a stand for both progress achieved in society vis-à-vis women in sport and forging the unity of an otherwise polarized nation by supporting the Lionesses in person in Australia.” Now, it’s just another mess for the palace to clean up.
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