For some reason, I’ve just been reminded of the late-summer shenanigans with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s flight to Scotland to visit the Queen. Remember that? William and Kate set up a little photoshoot as they exited their “budget flight” to Scotland and Kensington Palace made sure to throw the Sussexes under the bus in the midst of the media outrage for Harry and Meghan’s private jet usage. Days later, we learned that the Cambridges’ budget flight stunt involved two large, empty planes being flown across the UK to ensure that a certain Flybe plane would be featured in the photoshoot. I was reminded of that story because the initial outrage was about “the environment” and how dare Prince Harry try to speak about environmental concerns when he flies on private jets sometimes. Nevermind that all members of the royal family fly on private jets and private helicopters all the time.
Well, guess who’s suddenly interested in becoming a major environmental activist? You guessed it, it’s stunt queen Prince William and his budget flight shenanigans. William is apparently about to become a major mover and shaker in environmentalism. Either that or we’re just being keen-baited by the Cambridges again.
The Duke of Cambridge has held talks with influential figures including Bill Gates and Hillary Clinton as he plans a major ‘global environment initiative’. The Mail on Sunday understands that Prince William will launch the project next year and has been canvassing opinion on what can be done to combat climate change.
A source said: ‘He has been chatting to a lot of people about the environment and what needs to happen with a view to work out how best he can bring about change. These are the type of people to talk with to help on a global scale because if you want to evoke change in this area, you have to do it globally. Next year is going to be a big year for the environment. There are lots of things happening and he wants to be part of it.’
Former US Secretary of State Mrs Clinton is a vocal supporter of initiatives to fight climate change, some of which she championed during her unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2016. Mr Gates, the billionaire founder of Microsoft, and his wife Melissa recently pledged £236 million towards an initiative to help small farmers around the world adapt to climate change. Jody Allen, chief executive of the Wild Lives Foundation and sister of the late Paul Allen, who co-founded Microsoft, has also talked with William on the topic. Dr Andy Clements, chief executive of the British Trust for Ornithology and a board member of Natural England, said he had discussed the environment at length with the Prince.
I’ll be nice for a moment and note that I believe both William and Harry care about conservation and the environment. Those are issues both princes have worked on, to varying degrees, for years. This is not a new keenness. It’s not a new thing for William to attach himself to work being done by other people. It’s also not a new thing for William to take credit for work being done by other people. So what is new here? I think it’s William’s sudden need to have a big, defining “thing” associated with his name. And it will be interesting to see if there is any follow-through. It will also be interesting to see if the British papers crawl up his royal arse if and when he, say, flies on a private jet or, you know, takes a ride in that royal helicopter the Queen gave him because he couldn’t be bothered to take the train to Sandringham.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
I’ll believe it when I see it. Also, if “he” does it, it will not be him, but his people. He’ll lend his name, of course, and take credit for everything. So kingly. But, if it’s a good initiative, then all is forgiven, since the good it does is paramount.
And yet… all of these people fly private to get to these “conferences/meetings” to talk about what us peons should do to affect change in the climate crisis. What are THEY doing, personally? Do we seem THEM in carbon-negative transportation? Are THEIR homes completely solar? Are THEY giving up eating meat? C’mon…
While this IS a real crisis for us all, I for one, am tired of the hypocrisy.
They all need to cut down on their insane private travel and of course Williams team will have more to do with putting this stuff into practise than he will but the same is true for anything that ANY of the royals work on. They all have their teams so I don’t know why this is specifically a negative thing for the Cambridges.
I feel this energy, but a few thoughts:
You ask what these ppl are doing. Well, Bill and Melinda’s money is focused on helping Farmers become more sustainable bc farm and food production are where a lot of emissions contribute to GW: feeding cows for dairy and butchery for example. I think the goal of ppl who have name recognition is to also lobby Gov regulations (which would demand Jets and PJ plane manufacturers to build planes with better emissions: see fuel efficient cars) and for everyone to do what they can within the constraints they have to make a difference.
PJs are rarely flown by just 2 celebrities on them, it’s, like catching an Uber share ride. And, there are circumstances that make that an arguably better option (H&M&BA vacation) than flying commercial every time. It all depends, I think the message is that we can all be doing better more consistently?)
I’m not dying on this sword, I am trying to provide some POV while also acknowledging that yes, the rich tends to have exceptions—conveniences—which are on par with out own exceptions we make for ourselves everyday when we can certainly do better. No one is immune from humanity. It’s the degree to which we make this exceptions relative to the values we say we want to live our lives by.
I’d love to be a fly on the wall when he’s in the same room as intellectual heavy weights such as Hilary Clinton & Bill Gates. How does he hold his own without one of his aides constantly at his side?
Those two aren’t particularly known as environmentalists so the discussion was probably surface cocktail party level detail. Talk to real environmental scientists and activists if you want to do something with impact. Even his father has had more experience in this area.
But we all know this is a passing fancy like mental health and sustainable farming (didn’t he go to Oxford to learn about that? That went nowhere).
Kate and William remind me of a line from Spaceballs:
“prepare to move forward!”
“what are you preparing for! you’re always preparing! Just go!”
They’re always preparing. They’re always about to announce something. Just announce it already.
Now I’ll point out the difference in language between this and the coverage of Meghan taking meetings in the US – this needs to be global, these are the kinds of people he needs to talk to, etc.
I do think William and Harry take the environment and climate change seriously, but I feel like with William, I need to see/hear what he actually wants to do.
Space balls is a great movie in so many ways.
William is taking a page from Katie keen and promoting things that haven’t happened yet. Until an actual project is announced this is all bs to look good.
Becks1, I noticed that, too. The article is listing all these people he’s “chatted with” (sounds keen!) and I’m thinking “these are all Americans. If this was a Meghan article it would be about how she was meeting with AMERICAN presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and AMERICAN millionaire, Californians business people because she’s so Hollywood AMERICAN, and why would she do that?! How dare she!?” but this article actually builds in a defense for why it’s okay that Will is meeting with only Americans. They recognize that it’s something they give Meghan crap for, and they realize their readers are going to catch the American theme, so they preemptively defend him for it. “It’s not American, it’s ‘international.’”
The only person I give “credit” to in the royal family about getting involved in environmental issues is Charles who started doing it DECADES ago before it was a ~trendy topic. To be frank, as long as royals fly on their private jets and live lives of excess, dozens of trips around the world per year, etc. I don’t really care what they have to say about climate change unless its talking about how companies and governments can be better held responsible.
Absolutely. Charles has been consistent about his conservation campaigns. His criticisms on everything from farming practices, architecture, urban policies have all and long brought this interest into play. That said, I do believe that he has impacted both his boys’ interest in this area.
Between that, the Andrew fiasco and the need for the RF to gain good footing, I think this as well as the Markle initiatives are being announced now to produce non-PA distractions. All good, to be fair. No criticism here, but i think very much brought on by the news about the black sheep. And if it bolsters causes that are near and dear to the hearts of the bloke stepping in, well so much the better (for the RF). So, i think (all opinion here. These people don’t confab with me when they make their fustian declarations) this is all coordinated with Charles.
It started with Philip and his dedication to making the private estates self-sustaining. Charles was following his lead.
Visit to Jecca Craig coming in 3, 2, 1….
LMAO – endless supply of excuses for those soon to come conservation visits
@Maria
I hope you realize that Jecca Craig is married and no longer lives in Kenya?
Yep, sure am. I also know William ditched his family to go to her wedding, which is not the first time he ditched Kate to go to a Jecca-related event (he ditched George’s first vacation ever to go on a hunting trip that was all male except for Jecca). He clearly still carries a torch even if she doesn’t.
And she and her family are still very invested in conservation in Kenya, which is the whole reason Will cares about it in the first place.
Lol – William has passion when it comes to the right women… Jecca, Rose, un-named City Lawyer…
Didn’t he also skip Peter’s wedding (where Kate met the queen) for her brother’s wedding too? That always seemed odd to me because he and Peter (and his other cousins) were fairly close growing up.
@Beach Dreams – yup. that always struck me as weird not just bc he missed the wedding of his cousin but like you said, it was the first time Kate met the queen. why WOULDNT he want to be there to introduce the queen to his girlfriend?
Did William really ditch Kate the first time she met the Queen? Why was she even at the wedding if William wasn’t there? Why would she go? The thirst!
I think that gave him some deniability in case he wanted to ditch her later. “She was there on her own, not with me.”
William and Kate tried so hard their whole lives to colour within the lines that in doing so they never cultivated any real interests or found their calling. Lately Kate seems to be coming into her own with children and sports, whilst William is still flailing….
He needs to start having facets to his character in order to be respected as a monarch/ statesman…
Why would he put in the effort to turn out useful work when it’s apparently so easy for him to take the credit for other people’s work with no one challenging him on it? He even takes credit for his father’s work – never immediately. He waits to see how it’s received, then has his PR people sweep in and make it appear as if it was William’s genius idea all along.
The strategy William has with Charles is the lowest of the low. If you won’t go down with the ship don’t be there when the mast rises.
It’s embarrassing and he will fall on how own sword sooner or later.
Well, I wonder if they will now be slated for ‘preaching’ about the environment like the Sussexes have been, obviously not because double standards rule the day.
I must say that it’s crossed my mind that the Sussexes 6 week vacay is more than just a vacay. It is a bit suspicious that the Cambridges have been “working” on initiatives more lately. Seems as though they needed the Sussexes sidelined in order to play catchup? I’m not really much of a conspiracy theorist but I feel as though the 6 week vacation was forced on them and that it is the banishment that was hinted at before the Africa trip.
If they were banished then it was by the Queen and Charles. William has never had that power. That being said, I could see both the Queen and Charles thinking the Sussexes needed some time out of the spotlight for different reasons. The Queen probably thinks their break is the reason the drama with the press has died down instead of the completely valid lawsuits that she doesn’t approve of. Charles might adore Meghan, but he also has a jealous streak. He’s forcibly sidelined others in the family before. Meghan will always have to find a balance there, but she’s smart. William isn’t actually doing that much more, but Kate has actually stepped up a little. They aren’t getting the kind of coverage that I would expect if they were trying to pull the spotlight though.
Yes, indeed. I don’t believe I implied William has the power. I do believe he appealed to QE and Charles though.
I wonder too if M&H may be moving on emotionally and professionally from the possibly sinking ship that is the BRF, that H always had to be the beta to W’s much weaker, less mature, less deep persona, and now w M wants to just let his light shine. I think esp w Meghan’s broader perspective on many levels, H may also finally see the limitations of his clan. And all of that is prob v threatening to the lot of them…
Yes, I also believe it was forced on them. Didn’t we read that the Sussexes had been doing too many engagements, which would have put them ahead of the Cambridges? Wasn’t it said that the amount of work that Meghan has been doing in a year in which she was supposed to be on maternity leave, would make Kate look bad?
So he is fine to solicit high profile US philanthropists and no one bats an eye. Why not focus on British philanthropists since he is the future king and all that. I just can’t with these two-faced elitist scroungers.
BC it’s all about stepping on Meghan’s toes and showing who ranks above whom. William needs to be careful bc whilst Joe public may not be in the know as to the game of thrones shyt that goes on in the background, very soon networks and celebs will know. And given that Americans have no allegiance to a tantrum foot stomping ‘future King’ they will not give too many fuks about making their preference over Meghan known, especially if Meghan continues to be subjected to the racist attacks we have seen in the UK press.
Just more keen baiting. Maybe he’ll make another trip to Africa on a private jet to tell them to stop having so many babies.
If they announce Baby #4, thanks to the Rose scandal, it’ll be another international mock fest every time he talks about population and the environment.
Do not think there will be a Baby #4. To me, William does not seem all that into the children he already has.
Are we going to talk about William’s racism scandal
That was a huge failure on KP’s end to not know that he met with a woman who called people bacteria. Whoever arranged that meeting didn’t vet her properly at all.
Would he have listened? Newspapers published calls for him not to visit the elephant ‘sanctuary’ where they abuse elephants. He went anyway.
What was the scandal?
Here’s the story:
https://twitter.com/abrards/status/1202693360764538888
The header picture looks like he smelled a really toxic fart and then a split second realized he can taste it.
I think William has realized that while Harry has launched Sentebale, Endeavour, the Invictus Games, Travelyst, a new mental health initiative with Oprah, etc. all on his own, William doesn’t really have anything remotely similar under his belt. Even Prince Charles launched the Prince’s Trust before he turned 30.
Which, in all honesty, makes me wonder if the idea and beginnngs of this initiative were not started prior to the Sussex / Cambridge foundation split. Will we hear later that this had been a joint endeavor?
Hope he takes the ball and runs with it, and becomes the Royal eco- warrior. Harry and Meghan have taken such heat for “ preaching” about the environment, even though, as noted above, their main focus is conservation and not major environmental initiatives. So if William wants that mantle and to direct that heat his way, I say have at it. That way they can’t a keep using it to drag Harry and Meghan every time they go anywhere that involves wings or wheels. Hope he has a photo op with Greta Thunberg or sails across the channel in a solar powered yacht. As for actual follow through, he made the big announcement so better have something to show for it before he gets on another private jet. Of course, all will be well on that front if HE buys carbon offsets because he and his family can so no wrong.
Another umbrella org to take credit for work being done by other people, just like the wildlife one. Check.
Sure Jan.
“…plans…”
*insert eyeroll gif here*
He’s Very Keen!
I wonder what the magats and right wingers think about Will working with Hillary Clinton.
Who wrote that piece? Bill Gates’s wife is Melinda, not Melissa. And Hillary Clinton is called Secretary Clinton, not Mrs. Clinton.
Get a copy editor! LOL
Ha, I missed the whole Melinda/Melissa thing.
I think the Secretary/Mrs may be a stylistic choice for the newspaper? I haven’t seen it done that way (“Secretary of State Mrs Clinton”) but I know the NYT always refers to people that way. It uses their title the first time in an article and then the rest is Mr/Mrs/Ms. So they would say something like Secretary Clinton and then later on say Mrs Clinton.
He’s going to put in recycling bins at the the BRF palaces! There, MAJOR initiative done!
William doesn’t give a f-ck about the environment. This is a man that stood around talking about how the poors should stop having too many children while he’s a glorified welfare recipient with three kids. The fact that he thinks he has any moral authority whatsoever to pontificate about the environment or climate change is infuriating. He doesn’t care about climate change, he only cares about having the ability to smugly moralize about it to other people. Do us a favour and get your tubes tied first, dillhole. Then we’ll talk about climate change.
Sure.
There is absolutely no reason to create a separate royal initiative around Climate Change–wtf does he know about it? He should be funding real scientists at universities around the world who are working on understanding and combating the problem. That’s what anyone with money should be doing.
I just want to be sure that he avoids “lecturing” the people when speaking about environmental issues. The RRs will decimate hime for that.
The RRs won’t, they save that for the Sussexes.
Better be nicer to dad and Harry
Sure Jan. I will believe it when I see it as others have said.
I think we need to just get rid of the royal family. Right now being ‘born into royalty’ is such a toxic concept in this day and age, it’s not worth the good reality-family gossip. (Frankly, my area been fighting for any democracy at all…it just makes this seem so insane).
Also, I just skim read part of Tom Bowers Prince Charles book & while I used to think of him as the most boring but probably okish royal – now I think he’s rich whinger with a dangerous mummy-complex. Yikes.
Another one like tusk initiative gathering already successful projects and charities and claiming it as his own foundation🙄
No worries his mouthpieces at daily hail wont object or let it known and will praise him for his less than mediocre efforts
You really make me feel as if i am an idiot sometime people and william’s work with environment. Also darlings Harry and Meghan preached about carbon footprints and a few days later they travelled in a private jet. The story with William and Catherine wasn’t their fault, the flight company wanted attention and they did what they did. William and Catherine frequently use commercial flights and they didn’t preach about environment a few days before this whole thing. Ps (Also please don’t ever think about using the R word on me. I am Lebanese darlings if you don’t know what this means Google it, and not everyone who doesn’t like Meghan is racist) I also am a someone who loves everybody and doesn’t get upset easily so no matter what you say to this post you’re welcome