Prince of Wales slammed for not coming to Australia for FIFA Women’s World Cup final

The Prince of Wales’ shockingly apathetic reaction to the World Cup Finals is a slap in the face for both Aussies and women.

'Even if the prince does decide to make a last-minute dash Down Under, I’m not sure that would change the fact that the Prince of Wales is clearly failing to meet this historic moment'.

COMMENT

Your Royal Highnesses, I’m disappointed. So very bloody disappointed.

This weekend, the English Lionesses football team will take to the pitch in Sydney as they face off against Spain in the World Cup Final.

In the stands will be Queen Letizia of Spain and her daughter Princess Sofia, the duo having flown in specifically to support the national side.

And Prince William, the Prince of Wales? You know, the bloke who is President of the UK’s Football Association? Future King of not only Great Britain and Northern Ireland but also the future King of Australia and of New Zealand?

He’s on his hols. Can’t make it, sorry chaps – but don’t worry, his social media team has probably come up with a couple of simply wizard Instagram posts and tweets. That’ll do, right?

The absence of the prince on Sunday night at Stadium Australia is an affront for not only women but also two countries in the Commonwealth, over which Willy will one day be head of state, and which have made repeated, ever-increasingly loud noises about republicanism.

But why take such things into consideration when the prince has his out of office on and that latest Daniel Silva thriller to read?

William has not been seen in public for over a month as he and wife Kate, the Princess of Wales enjoy their annual, lengthy, months-long summer break. (That prerecorded video of him serving burgers and managing to use ‘I’ with startling frequency doesn’t count, given it’s unknown when that was actually shot).

Normally, this time of year sees the Waleses enjoy a trip somewhere such as the Isles of Scilly before heading north to Balmoral to join the rest of the royal family to eat burnt sausages in some loch-side cottage, as they cosplay normal life.

Princess Charlotte roared her support for the England Lionesses alongside her dad Prince William ahead of last year’s Euro final.

And yet clearly that sausage-fest takes precedence over that pesky thing called duty for the 41-year-old this weekend.

The last year has seen William and Kate enjoy new titles, new military roles and a general elevation in rank, given they are now only one awkward fishbone away from the throne themselves. And by and large, the Waleses have done a pretty decent job. They have their big-ticket causes – the climate crisis, mental health and early years work – and apply themselves with the sort of earnest dedication one would expect of the UK’s highest paid quasi-civil servants.

However, this World Cup situation raises the question of whether all that duty and devotion to the cause of the monarchy only apply for the Prince of Wales when it suits him.

This is, after all, the man who in 2017 skipped the Commonwealth Day service to go skiing with the lads in the Swiss Alps, only to be caught on camera doing some dad-dancing with a blonde Australian woman in a nightclub. (Well, only one of those outings served gluhwein, ja?)

William, in not coming to the final, is showing a shocking lack of interest in two of the key nations left in the shrinking parcel of countries over which he will one day preside.

In fact, what this moment really feels like – as I angrily pound my keyboard fuelled by feminist indignation, national pride and medically inadvisable quantities of coffee – is that he takes us – the Commonwealth – entirely for granted.

He and Kate have not visited our shores since 2014. In early 2020, after the devastating fires, there were whispers in London that the couple would be undertaking a royal visit to tour the ravaged areas, a trip that obviously did not take place due to the pandemic. (Remember those fun times?)

Prince William, Prince of Wales is president of England’s Football Association. Picture: Joe Giddens – Pool/Getty Images

However, have there been any hints about a trip Down Under to awkwardly hold a chlamydia-free koala and pose next to the Sydney Opera House since the world was freed from lockdown? Niente.

The Waleses have not done a serious, meaty overseas tour since their positively disastrous go around the Caribbean last March.

There is often a royal overseas trip booked in for about September or October – so has there been a peep suggesting that the Waleses might be in need of their travel calm and his and hers Kindles for the 22-hour flight to Australia? Nope.

Your Highnesses, the natives are not so much restive as feeling increasingly ropeable right now.

And then there is the other part to all of this, which is gender.

William’s absence would speak of a quiet contempt for not just women’s sport but women.

Aussies were left heartbroken after the Matildas lost to the Lionesses on Wednesday.

If it was the men’s English team that was in the finals, there is not a shadow of a doubt in my mind that the entire British Airways first class cabin of the next flight from Heathrow to Sydney would have been booked out by some harried Kensington Palace aide. (Meanwhile, William would be head first in his extensive wardrobe of navy blue separates trying to find his England stripe and those never-opened tubes of red and white zinc).

England beat Colombia last Saturday to set up their semi-final clash with Australia (a single tear rolls down my cheek) thus raising the possibility that the Lionesses could end up in the finals. Given that William and his office have known for that long that England might end up

there, why the dickens wasn’t a possible Sydney dash being tentatively planned and considered then?

I’m writing this on Friday morning and there is still a chance that in the next 48 hours the prince might decide to surprise us all and come on Sunday, in his carefully unbuttoned smart casual, a pristine England scarf that has just come out of the plastic carefully wound around his royal neck.

Aussie players embrace after the team's 1-3 defeat and elimination from the tournament. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

However, even if he does turn up, his abject failure to thus far treat this thrilling, joyful, heady moment for women, for the English team and for Australia, with the excitement, energy and verve it deserves is galling – especially so, given his role as president of England’s Football Association.

The official Kensington Palace Twitter account has sent out one – uno – tweet about the Lionesses’ win and the Matildas’ loss. It all felt nothing more than pro-forma; something composed and dashed off by the one communications aide left to man the office while everyone else is off soaking up the sun.

Yet somehow, William and Kate have managed to share four tweets and retweets about William’s big burger outing.

Get on a plane to Australia asap, YRH - you would if the men’s team reached a World Cup Final… so why not for the women? https://t.co/clDn9ajXhF

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) August 17, 2023

The tepidness of all this is not something that I think Australia and anyone who cares about gender equality will forget any time soon.

What this all speaks to, for me, is a certain neglect, a certain disinterest, a certain cavalier disrespect for what is a seismic moment on a number of levels.

What this all looks like is a shocking lack of commitment on William’s part for the less fun, unglamorous parts of being heir to the throne, like having to jump on a long haul flight at the last minute to do some cheering and Commonwealth flag waving when he is meant to be on holidays.

And even if the prince does decide to make a last-minute dash Down Under, I’m not sure that would change the fact that the Prince of Wales is clearly failing to meet this historic moment.

There is one final part to this that I will never forgive William for.

On Friday, Piers Morgan tweeted: “Get on a plane to Australia asap, YRH – you would if the men’s team reached a World Cup Final … so why not for the women?”

Leaving me to fervently agree with something that comes out of that man’s mouth Inexcusable, Your Royal Highness.

Daniela Elser is a writer, editor and a royal commentator with more than 15 years’ experience working with a number of Australia’s leading media titles.