Prince William will not be attending the Women’s World Cup final this Sunday, even though England’s Lionesses will be playing – and people are not happy.
The Prince of Wales has been accused of sexism for not showing up to support the women’s team in Australia when they play against Spain in a historic match.
He’s not the only one who won’t be there, either. UK PM Rishi Sunak has opted out of flying over to support the Lionesses – but William has arguably faced more backlash, as he is the president of the Football Association.
After an emotional semi-final where England beat Australia, 3-1, on Wednesday, the senior royal posted his congratulations on the platform X (formerly Twitter), saying they had a “phenomenal performance”.
However, his officials at Kensington Palace later confirmed he will not be flying over there for Sunday’s match, but supporting the team by watching the broadcast.
Reports suggest the decision was based on the inefficiency of the trip. William would be going to the other side of the world for a two-hour match, before heading home again.
That would go against the environmental credentials he’s worked so hard to accumulate over the years. He launched the Earthshot Prize in 2019 to offer funding to the most innovative green ideas to help fix the world.
And royal calendars are famously planned in meticulous detail, usually months in advance.
William reportedly did not intend on travelling to Qatar for the Men’s World Cup last October either, but then again, that team only made it to the quarter-finals.
Still – it doesn’t help that Spain’s Queen Letizia is heading down under with her 16-year-old daughter to cheer on their team.
And people were not happy on social media...
Not everyone jumped on the bandwagon, though.
Others pointed out that the heir to the throne would come under intense scrutiny if he did fly to Australia for the game, because of his carbon footprint.
Foreign secretary James Cleverly will be attending the match in Sydney instead of Sunak, and is expected to meet Australia’s minister of foreign affairs, Penny Wong, to talk about international policy and regional security.