I do hate to see the Prince of Wales being hounded about this. He seems to be working hard. After all,he has been supporting the team throughout the season.
Besides where does it end? Will he be expected to attend other events outside of the country?
To be honest, I don't follow athletics that closely, but am a devoted figure skating fan.
What does that have to do with the subject at hand, you ask?
Just this: What popped in my mind was the worldwide acclaim surrounding the great, iconic British figure skaters Torvil and Dean who won Olympic Gold in the 80s.
I don't remember any Royals following them around.
Torvil and Dean had the highest scoring historically (at least for that era).
Their performance was groundbreaking, changing the face of figure skating.
Anyway, I did a screenshot of a New York Times article that said the Queen usually did not publicly acknowledge sporting feats.
(From article, "Torvil and Dean get Royal Praise")
[The Queen watched the couple's stunning interpretation of Ravel's ''Bolero'' live on television at Buckingham Palace. Later, she sent a telegram to the British Ambassador in Belgrade to pass on to the two skaters, Britain's only medal winners so far at the Winter Games in Sarajevo.]
The article continues:
"It is rare for the monarch to offer her personal congratulations for a sporting feat, but a Buckingham Palace spokesman said: ''This was very special.''
[The telegram, signed ''Elizabeth R,'' read: ''Many congratulations on your superb performance which I watched with great pleasure and which brought you such a well-deserved gold medal.'']
(end of article)
Apparently, athletes in those days could perform without the Royal imprimatur.
I am sure his staff could have arranged some last minute relevant additional meetings or visits related to his Earth Shot Prizes on his way back or even in Sydney to make it worthwhile for the planet but I suspect Mr and Mrs Wales simply preferred to stay on holiday with their young family or perhaps had other private engagements. People tend to forget that they also have a private life, friends and family and that a spot in th World Cup Final is not exactly planned weeks before hand.... Apparently the Spanish Royals had ample time, Carbon Credits and were keen to go.
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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