On Tuesday, Prince William wanted credit for making his first big speech as Prince of Wales. He went to the United for Wildlife Global Summit (??) at the Science Museum in London. Kate didn’t go with him – she rarely attends events about conservation or wildlife. She’s either not keen on those subjects or William prefers to do those events alone and he tells her to stay home. These events would get much more attention if he brought Kate, though. I’m just saying. This summit is being hosted by Lord Hague, the Tory politician turned Tory svengali for William, who is a Tory stooge. Lord Hague currently works as the chair of The Royal Foundation, which means that this whole thing was just a comfortable in-house thing, everything stage-managed perfectly for William, all he had to do was show up and read the speech someone wrote for him (probably Lord Hague). Tellingly, Kensington Palace gave copies of the speech out to media outlets:
Too many lives are being destroyed and too many species driven to the brink of extinction because of the “heinous crime” of illegal wildlife trading, the Prince of Wales will say today. In his first set-piece speech since he was given the title, William will address the United for Wildlife global summit at the Science Museum in London.
William, 40, will use his keynote address to highlight the serious and organised nature of wildlife crime and its damaging impact on global biodiversity and communities.
He is expected to say: “There are still too many criminals who believe they can act with impunity, too many lives being destroyed and too many species on the brink of extinction due to this heinous crime. [United for Wildlife] set out to ensure that those involved in wildlife crime face an international response as powerful and co-ordinated as any other serious and organised crime. [And] to bring their sinister operations out of the shadows and to ensure that communities are equipped, empowered and supported to protect themselves and their natural world.”
The prince set up the United for Wildlife (UfW) umbrella organisation in 2014 to tackle the illegal trade in animal products. He has long campaigned on the subject and has called for a commitment to end the “abhorrent crime”, which includes the poaching of elephants for ivory and tigers for their skins.
Sure, that’s fine, I guess. It seems kind of anticlimactic to just hand his speech to the Times before he even showed up at the event though? The larger point is that this is considered a politically safe issue for William – no one in the Conservative Party wants to see their favorite stooge, the useful idiot they’ve carefully groomed for years, bite off more than he can chew. They keep it very simple: poaching is bad, criminals are bad, anti-poaching programs are good. Easy peasy.
Also: William, like King Charles, was ordered to stay home during this year’s COP27 conference in Egypt. Charles briefed the Times that Liz Truss had ordered him not to travel or attend the conference in person. Charles isn’t allowed to send William in his place either, which suits Peggington just fine. Why would he want to go to an international conference which cannot be stage-managed perfectly by his Tory handlers?
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
-
- William, Prince of Wales arrives at Science Museum, London, England, UK on Tuesday 4 October, 2022 where he is attending the The United For Wildlife Global Summit.,Image: 728034950, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng / Avalon
-
- William, Prince of Wales arrives at Science Museum, London, England, UK on Tuesday 4 October, 2022 where he is attending the The United For Wildlife Global Summit.,Image: 728034969, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng / Avalon
-
- William, Prince of Wales arrives at Science Museum, London, England, UK on Tuesday 4 October, 2022 where he is attending the The United For Wildlife Global Summit.,Image: 728034982, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng / Avalon
-
- William, Prince of Wales arrives at Science Museum, London, England, UK on Tuesday 4 October, 2022 where he is attending the The United For Wildlife Global Summit.,Image: 728034989, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng / Avalon
-
- William, Prince of Wales arrives at Science Museum, London, England, UK on Tuesday 4 October, 2022 where he is attending the The United For Wildlife Global Summit.,Image: 728035063, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng / Avalon
‘to bring their sinister operations out of the shadows and to ensure that communities are equipped, empowered and supported to protect themselves and their natural world.”
Yes Bill. I too hope that your sinister operations you perpetuated against your sister-in-law and brother are brought to the light.
Damn hypocrite. I can’t stand this lying, scheming, jealous dullard or his raggedy wife.
+1000.
Yeah, where can decry the sinister operations of certain brother-in-laws?
I didn’t read that William wasn’t allowed to go to COP27, just that he wasn’t going because he was concentrating on Earthshot. But if the government isn’t allowing William to go, that seems like overstepping.
But Charles was ordered not to go? I don’t understand how that works. Can the PM tell the monarch what to do?
@bettyrose: not so much telling what to do but strongly advise absolutely. And the monarch is obliged to listen as they are not an elected head of state. Britain is a constitutional monarchy. And even though this pm wasn’t exactly democratically elected either, to not listen would be seen as undermining democracy.
@eurydice: i must have missed that William was ordered to stay home as well. But i think that if it’s true, he is probably quite upset about it. He probably sees it as a missed opportunity to play the important statesman sharing a world stage with other statesman. Remember the psychotic coverage last year?
Apparently overseas events are done in service to the government, which gives Truss veto power. She’s rolling back all of the UK’s climate commitment so it would be awkward, to say the least, for Charles to speak at COP.
@Chloe – William might be upset that he can’t go to COP27, he might be incandescent, or he might be relieved that he doesn’t have to do more work and thankful that he won’t have to drag Kate along with him.
It’s been reported that No. 10 told both of them that they couldn’t go.
Thanks, the DM had a different take in their piece. This is super interesting. Harry said that Charles and William were in a trap, but has it ever been this obvious?
Prince william’s hunting hypocrisy has been well-documented for at least a decade. His boar-hunting in Spain, his trophy safari in Jecca’s Africa, him reproaching Harry with refusing to go hunting, following Meghan’s disgust at the pratice. Now Mr Hyde is a wild life protector 😳 😁. If so, one of us must be the next Empress of Japan, then.
I’m sure it’s a very worthy cause. However, I’m going to say he’s had this Trust for nearly 9 years and it has very little brand recognition. This is the type of thing a LOT of people would get behind and yet few people have heard of it. This man (and his wife) is a complete waste of time. He’s just a man with empty gestures and soundbites. Grrrrrrr
I wish this were more than lip service and actually effective and well-coordinated among nations. Instead, it’s more blowhard diversion to keep you looking over here while William and his ilk commit crimes over there.
@Laura D — excellent point that he’s been part of this org for 9 years and there’s little brand recognition. Versus Invictus Games, which is a global brand. What Harry has done with Invictus is what royals should be doing for every org that they sponsor, otherwise, what’s the point?
Perfect example — what’s the point of Kate visiting a hospital maternity ward? What’s her purpose? To raise $$? Raise awareness? I have no doubt that if this were Meghan’s org, she would have done her homework and found a practical way to provide help, and not just shown up for an hour to shake hands and accept flowers.
Laura D, well, I suspect that Fails wouldn’t have done this if Harry hadn’t just been to Africa (I can’t remember the name of the organization) that had to with poaching.
Can he shut up about this? There are no elephants or tigers living in the wild in the UK. This is just a way to demonize black and brown people in other countries far away while he ignores the real problems on his own doorstep and goes out shooting birds and slaughtering boar for fun. He needs to stay in his lane.
Yes, this is the vibe I couldn’t quite put my finger on. It seems like a way to shame and disparage former colonies. So…pretty on brand for the UK and it’s inbred monarchs.
Exactly right. Poaching is a complicated issue and Will just doesn’t have the range to address it. A lot of these so-called poachers are local people who are hunting the same species they always have in order to feed their families, only for white people to come around, declare the species protected, and fence off their native habitats for their own tourism trade, leaving those “poachers” unable to feed their families. It’s very similar to the palm oil debate – yes, endangered species should be protected, but prioritizing the life of a subgenus of boar (as an example) over the lives of native Africans is just colonialism under the veil of conservation.
I was just thinking myself that every speech he gives on conservation shows no critical thinking on the topic. It’s always PoAcHiNg BaD! and no analysis on the complicated economic situations that might drive someone into poaching (because due diligence on that front would lead to a condemnation of imperialism, a stance Peggy is not allowed), or how we could work to stop the demand for trafficked animal parts (that would mean working with *gasp* the Chinese! Can’t have our future King look too chummy with the CCP!). Until he is willing to give a speech that addresses either of the above, I wish he’d stay home.
” This is just a way to demonize black and brown people in other countries far away “: Absolutely spot on! If Bullyiam was a sincere animal lover, wouldn’t he rather target the English circuses which imprison lions, zebras, giraffes and even camels away from their natural habitat, just for their gigs? He sounds very sanctimonious and proportionately incapable of doing what he preaches.
Why doesn’t William do something about the illegal fox hunting still taking place in England? It was banned in 2004 but hundreds of hunters on horseback with packs of braying hounds still fly under the radar.
How do hundreds of people on horseback with braying hounds fly under the radar?
I like the fact the new Liz is bossing Chuck and Bill around despite her issues. A not so gentle reminder of where the real power of the UK lies and it’s not with the unelected mascots. William may have connections with the media to help him bully the Sussexes out of the UK but he is obviously dogged walked by Parliament who has the muscle to turn the press against him and push him off the throne.
The article is spot on. At some time, social media notwithstanding, there will be a recognition that there has been a shift to the next horror show, the next declining ’empire’.
The next great idea will be germinated by some young people far away from prying eyes.
I hope that ‘we’ the collective will have an opportunity to decipher its entire worth.
Lest of all, its economic potential.
The planet is our home, and may have
other plans to save itself from homo sapiens and its industries.
As we keep move hurling towards higher ocean temperatures, at some time hurricanes would not be able to keep the temperatures down.
Hurricanes in the areas of the lest pollution bears most of the burdens.
Prepare for the second ice age. Let’s hope its survivors are more evolved that the present.
Meanwhile, in the land of alternative reality, the ultimate PR asset/liability?
Tada….
I am going to repeat what I said about his wife earlier, nothing nice to say about him so I am moving on.
Phew, it’s getting really hard to bite my tongue about these two.
He’s set up another ‘umbrella organisation’? I for one am shocked.
I totally get that it does make sense for charities/organisations in a similar space to be able to link up and possibly coordinate efforts but let’s not kid our selves that all the umbrellas the Wails set up are to give themselves credit for the work of others and create jobs for their friends.
I’m going to be totally honest here. I couldn’t give a flying fig how many umbrella organisations he sets up if they actually made an impact! Seriously, he’s had nine years to make a difference and as far as I can tell he’s done bugger all! If William is “begging” money for this worthy cause, where is it going? Is it funding William to make more speeches and wring his hands at the problem or, is it going to those people on the ground trying to deter/catch poachers? Nine frigging years and no-one has a bliddy clue what it is this Trust is doing.
Yes, speeches are great at highlighting the problem but where is the evidence to show this trust has/is making a difference? As someone said up-thread poaching in these countries is far more than a “poachers are bad” mantra. Has anyone in that organisation gone out there and talked to the poachers? Have they asked them who they’re killing these animals for? If there wasn’t a market they wouldn’t need to poach. Honestly, I’m bliddy fuming over this one!
Prince William needs to decry himself. Seriously. Asshat.
Doesn’t this dude hunt? For instance, pheasants were brought to Europe, which was disastrous for farmers as the birds eat crops so the upper classes could shoot them. As noted above, fox hunting still takes place. Conservation/ anti-poaching is what it’s called on other continents, but murdering animals for sport around Christmas is okay? Kind of like being the father of at least 3 children and leading an environmentally unsustainable lifestyle, yet going after the people in Africa who are not contributing to the destruction of our planet. Way to be tone deaf!
Did his Earthshot thing happen in New York? I know he didn’t attend due to “mourning” , but one would think that there would still be reporting on baldermort’s big initiative.
Apologies for thread jacking, but this just occurred to me and commented on the first post that was vaguely relative.