Queen Elizabeth, British windsorologists say, would never have gotten into trouble commenting on the Gaza war. British royalty avoids talking about politics, but that is what William, the heir to the crown, has done in his ambition to increasingly act as a “global statesman.” And it has cost him numerous criticisms, such as that of the far-right Nigel Farage, who has shamelessly recommended that he “dedicate himself to the Baftas” (he is the president of the British Film Academy).
The Prince of Wales has surprised by stating that “too many people have already died in the conflict” and calling for the cessation of hostilities, the urgent sending of humanitarian aid to Gaza and the return of the hostages by Hamas, all in a language with a Churchillian tone (“even in the darkest hour we must not succumb to despair) with touches of Obama (“there is always hope for a better future”).
William, who said he was “deeply affected as a father by the situation in Gaza,” made his speech while his father, King Charles III, has renounced all public appearances after being diagnosed with cancer. Yesterday the monarch flew from Sandringham to Windsor Castle for his weekly interview with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the first since he became aware of the illness.
The message from the number one in the line of succession was sent by the royal family to the Foreign Office and Downing Street for approval, so that it did not deviate from the official Government line, and in fact reflects similar comments from Sunak. Last night a Labor proposal for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” was voted in the House of Commons, but conditional on Hamas no longer constituting a threat to Israel. Conservatives go further and demand the return of the hostages and progress towards a solution on the two-state formula to demand an end to hostilities from Tel Aviv.
William is scheduled to visit a synagogue in the coming days, and the response to his message from rabbis and the Jewish community in Britain has generally been positive. Much more skeptical is that of the Israeli Government, which considers its words naive: “We – said a spokesperson – also want the fighting to end as soon as possible, but for this it is necessary to release the 134 hostages still in the hands of Hamas and “that the threat of his army repeating the atrocities of October 7 (when it murdered more than 1,200 people) disappear.”
