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Prince William is tackling harsh criticism for not showing up to support the Lionesses against Spain in the World Cup final in Sydney.
The prince is president of the UK Football Association.
According to UK paper The Independent, the palace cited the prince’s environmental principles as the reason he would not be making the trip.
“A trip to Australia would involve flying across the world for a very short period of time,” the palace told the paper. That would, “involve creating a large carbon footprint, which goes against William’s commitment to tackling climate change”.
William did send the team a message of support describing the Lionesses win over Australia’s Matildas as a “phenomenal performance”.
Getty Images
Prince William will not be attending the World Cup, but will be watching at home.
Beside him in the firing line is UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is also not attending the final.
According to the Sun, the decision is an own goal by two of the most senior representatives of the country. The criticism from the public has been so harsh, UK foreign secretary James Cleverly was “scrambled to attend” in their stead.
UK health minister Neil O’Brien told the Tabloid, Sunak would “love to be there” but had diary clashes, and “some of those things he can’t always move.”
The Telegraph reported former culture minister Ed Vaizey saying it would have been “unthinkable” for the Prince of Wales and the Prime Minister to miss England playing in the Men’s World Cup final, and urged the pair to make the trip.
According to the Independent, plans might have been in place for the Prince to attend the final of the Men’s World Cup in Qatar in October in the event the men’s team made it to that round. They were booted out of the competition in the quarter-finals, however.
Adding to the embarrassment, Queen Letizia of Spain has made the trip to Sydney to support their national team. She is joined by her youngest daughter, the Infanta Sofia, 16.
Getty Images
Prince William with the entire 2023 Women’s World Cup squad at their UK training camp.
The Lionesses beat Australia 3-1 on Wednesday night, after Spain kicked Sweden out of the tournament on Tuesday night, beating them 2-1 in a tense semi-final at Eden Park.
It is the first time in 33 years that either team has made it to the World Cup final.
They will face off at Stadium Australia, in Sydney; on Sunday at 10pm (NZ time). You can watch the game Live on Sky Sport 1, Prime, and Stuff. Click here for all you need to know about the match.
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