The Prince of Wales issued a "sorry we can't be there but good luck and have fun" video in advance of today's World Cup final in Australia, in which England were narrowly defeated by Spain.
HM the Queen of Spain and Infanta Sofia were in attendance, but the British Royal family were unrepresented despite the Prince of Wales being president of the FA. He has been heavily criticized for his decision not to attend, which has been attributed to his desire not to increase his carbon footprint by flying across the world for such a short time, with many questioning whether he would have made the same decision if it had been the men's team competing in the final.
I'm sorry to say, but I think the critics in this case are fully justified. He has been a fairly active FA president, not merely a name on the letterhead sort of royal patron, and royals have traditional traveled across the world for all sorts of sporting events. This seems to have been a total misjudgment of the national mood. Frankly, president of the FA or not, the primary role and
one of the main justifications of a monarch and the family members who support him/her in a constitutional monarchy is to be the symbolic representatives of the nation at things like this. Surely there were flights from London to Australia this week that would have gone whether or not HRH was on them? If he wasn't going to go, he could at least have done an interview or statement in which he gave a fuller explanation.
In any event, congratulations to the Lionesses on an exceptional performance in this World Cup and (I know this is the wrong board, Robert) to Spain on their victory.
Incidentally, this was the first time two monarchies met in the women's World Cup final. The only two times it has ever happened in a men's World Cup were Spain v. Netherlands in 2010 and 1938, when Italy defeated Hungary (technically a monarchy although the throne was vacant and the claimant, ex-Crown Prince Otto, in involuntary exile, with the dictator Admiral Horthy as self-styled Regent.)
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/royal-family/prince-william-not-going-to-world-cup-lionesses-b2396154.html
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