Royals at the FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, July-August 2023

[CrownPrincessJava]

He is the heir to the throne of Australia. He can never simply come here as the President of the FA. He will always be the Prince of Wales and that has a different rank to the Queen of Spain in Australia.

If you don't think the referendum is turning nasty you aren't seeing and hearing what I am hearing (two staff at my school have been warned to change their views or lose their jobs and three casuals have been told they won't be employed again as they have simply asked for more information).

He won't damage the BRF by not coming but he could easily be drawn into a political debate in Australia if he came and that would damage the relationship between Australia and the UK and damage the status of the monarchy in this country.

It is simply protocol that senior royals do now visit a realm while there is a vote in the offing. The referendum is way too divisive an issue for him to be here while it is going on.

Bollocks! Then he and Catherine should have never done the 2022 tour of the Caribbean, especially as more than one country is ACTIVELY pursuing a referendum to remove themselves from the Commonwealth. That is what you call a hot political situation. Your sample size of 5 people being "cautioned" does not constitute the description of the Voice referendum turning nasty. And if it is the case they have been warned or get fired for not "changing their views", they have legal remit to go after the school.

 

[Iluvbertie]

Bollocks! Then he and Catherine should have never done the 2022 tour of the Caribbean, especially as more than one country is ACTIVELY pursuing a referendum to remove themselves from the Commonwealth. That is what you call a hot political situation. Your sample size of 5 people being "cautioned" does not constitute the description of the Voice referendum turning nasty. And if it is the case they have been warned or get fired for not "changing their views", they have legal remit to go after the school.

The Caribbean tour was NOT held while countries were in the period between passing the legislation for a referendum and holding it as Australia is.

The issue of republicanism in the Caribbean has been around for half a century. Jamaica has been talking about it since Trinidad became a republic in the mid-70s but the polls show that the people don't support it and unlike Barbados where a referendum wasn't needed Jamaica needs one. The PM can talk about it but no referendum has ever been called so the situation isn't the same at all.

The casuals weren't 'cautioned'. They were told no further days work for them.

The other two are on stress leave as a result and the union is backing the school.

These are just personal examples of which I know but I also read the media and watch the TV and it is clear that it is turning nasty from the politicians on down.

Some people have their heads in the sand and refuse to see that this is the most divisive issue - and sad as it could have been done so much better.

 

[Archduchess Zelia]

There always seems to be a convenient excuse...

 

[Prisma]

[...]

Not sure about the rest but for 2011 maybe because of the 311 great earthquake? The tournament took place just few months after the earthquake.

Perhaps but other Imperial family members traveled after the 3/11 great earthquake for official and unofficial activities, see https://www.kunaicho.go.jp/e-about/shinzen/gaikoku/gaikoku-2009-2018.html#H23

I hope Princess Hisako will attend the next Women's World Cup.

 

[Elly C]

Well it’s so very sad. I’m not unrealistic enough to imagine that sport can avoid being made a political football- forgive the pun! It’s a lose lose situation for everyone.

 

[Alison H]

Of course he can! In the capacity of being the President of Football in the UK. That's it.

He's president of the English FA. There is no "UK FA". Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own Football Associations.

I don't actually think it's got anything to do with the political situation in Australia. I think it's more that he doesn't want to cut into his summer holiday by making such a long journey. There's been quite a lot of upset in England over the fact that he's not going, and the Australian referendum has never been mentioned as an explanation.

 

[CrownPrincessJava]

The Caribbean tour was NOT held while countries were in the period between passing the legislation for a referendum and holding it as Australia is.

The issue of republicanism in the Caribbean has been around for half a century. Jamaica has been talking about it since Trinidad became a republic in the mid-70s but the polls show that the people don't support it and unlike Barbados where a referendum wasn't needed Jamaica needs one. The PM can talk about it but no referendum has ever been called so the situation isn't the same at all.

The casuals weren't 'cautioned'. They were told no further days work for them.

The other two are on stress leave as a result and the union is backing the school.

These are just personal examples of which I know but I also read the media and watch the TV and it is clear that it is turning nasty from the politicians on down.

Some people have their heads in the sand and refuse to see that this is the most divisive issue - and sad as it could have been done so much better.

Legislation was passed enabling the amendment to the Constitution and associated legislation. This provided the machinery for an actual referendum to take place between two and six months after the bill was signed. Referendum writs cannot be issued before end of September, so at earliest is an October referendum. Therefore no official political advertising etc is allowed. And by viewing online news outlets, the referendum-to-be does not make headline news. Why? Because there is no date yet.

I cannot find any explicit literature or statement on this so-called protocol, other than not explicitly commenting on political issues, or refraining in voting. It may have existed once when the BRF were more entrenched in the values of the Commonwealth, but it is certainly not the case now.

William not attending is incredibly disappointing. As another poster said, there is always an excuse.

 

[Elly C]

He's president of the English FA. There is no "UK FA". Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own Football Associations.

I don't actually think it's got anything to do with the political situation in Australia. I think it's more that he doesn't want to cut into his summer holiday by making such a long journey.

Now that’s the one thing I don’t see as the reason. William has proved over and over again that is extremely conscientious in his attitude to public duties, particularly with regard to patronages.

 

[CrownPrincessJava]

He's president of the English FA. There is no "UK FA". Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own Football Associations.

I don't actually think it's got anything to do with the political situation in Australia. I think it's more that he doesn't want to cut into his summer holiday by making such a long journey. There's been quite a lot of upset in England over the fact that he's not going, and the Australian referendum has never been mentioned as an explanation.

Ah, my bad! Yes - president of the English FA

 

[Alison H]

Now that’s the one thing I don’t see as the reason. William has proved over and over again that is extremely conscientious in his attitude to public duties, particularly with regard to patronages.

He is usually, but there seems to be a growing backlash against the decision not to go to the final, and no reason's been given as to why he's not going. Rishi Sunak's also been criticised for not going, but he isn't the President of the FA. I very rarely criticise William but I think he's made a bad call this time. It looks particularly bad given that Letizia and Sofia are going.

 

[tommy100]

Ah, my bad! Yes - president of the English FA

Which is a whole other argument in itself... Prince of Wales as President of the English FA

 

[W.Y.CII]

I think the disappointment isn't only come from him not showing up in the tournament. Besides physically supporting the team, I don't see him doing anything else during this tournament besides a few text tweets. After those years of pandemic and couples of world cup with controversial host it proved there's many ways for royals to support the team even if they don't/can't physically visit and watch the match, what comes to my mind is the photo of Anne watching the Scottish rugby team (?) with Tim in their living room. Maybe just sharing a photo of the Wales family with the team jersey while watching the match?

 

[Elly C]

He is usually, but there seems to be a growing backlash against the decision not to go to the final, and no reason's been given as to why he's not going. Rishi Sunak's also been criticised for not going, but he isn't the President of the FA. I very rarely criticise William but I think he's made a bad call this time. It looks particularly bad given that Letizia and Sofia are going.

He has stated that he won’t do long haul for such a short trip because of carbon footprint ( not his exact words) . I do see there’s a valid argument as someone who is actively supporting climate matters and of course the Earth shot prize. However, this hasn’t gone down well as the Spanish royals are making the long trip so it looks like a veiled criticism.

 

[Sunnystar]

I don't understand why some of the Australian posters think that William would be drawn into the referendum debate by showing up at the Final. If it's a matter of not being seen with your PM or other politicians, then either a) the Australian politicians skip the Final or b) William is seated well apart from any other politicians - maybe near Letizia & Sofia since they're all royals and know each other fairly well.

And, frankly, seeing that Australia isn't in the Final, I'm not sure what reason there is for any Australian politician showing up at the match.

 

[doro]

I don't understand why some of the Australian posters think that William would be drawn into the referendum debate by showing up at the Final. If it's a matter of not being seen with your PM or other politicians, then either a) the Australian politicians skip the Final or b) William is seated well apart from any other politicians - maybe near Letizia & Sofia since they're all royals and know each other fairly well.

And, frankly, seeing that Australia isn't in the Final, I'm not sure what reason there is for any Australian politician showing up at the match.

Not being inconvenient, when will be held the referendum?

 

[Archduchess Zelia]

He has stated that he won’t do long haul for such a short trip because of carbon footprint ( not his exact words) . I do see there’s a valid argument as someone who is actively supporting climate matters and of course the Earth shot prize. However, this hasn’t gone down well as the Spanish royals are making the long trip so it looks like a veiled criticism.

But as it stands, he's gonna be Australia's head of state one day An unwillingness to visit your own realm because it's "too far away" begs the question: Why does Australia have a head of state who's always sitting in a country halfway around the world anyway? Other posters have defended his absence with the "political climate" in Australia. If anything, I think absence because of an unwillingness to fly to Australia is grounds for debates about Australia's affiliation with Commonwealth and the BRF in the future.

Nothing prevents William from pairing a visit to Sydney for the final with a few brief official engagements, thus making it a working visit. Perfectly defendable. It's a matter of willingness.

 

[CrownPrincessJava]

I don't understand why some of the Australian posters think that William would be drawn into the referendum debate by showing up at the Final. If it's a matter of not being seen with your PM or other politicians, then either a) the Australian politicians skip the Final or b) William is seated well apart from any other politicians - maybe near Letizia & Sofia since they're all royals and know each other fairly well.

And, frankly, seeing that Australia isn't in the Final, I'm not sure what reason there is for any Australian politician showing up at the match.

Because it's bring held in Australia. Our PM and the Premier of NSW will be there

 

[Sunnystar]

Because it's bring held in Australia. Our PM and the Premier of NSW will be there

Pffft. So? That's not a reason for a politician to show up at a sporting event. I certainly wouldn't expect the President of the US or Mexico or Canada's PM to show up at the WC Final in 2026 unless their country is playing in the game.

 

[Adda]

Rishi Sunak's also been criticised for not going, but he isn't the President of the FA. I very rarely criticise William but I think he's made a bad call this time. It looks particularly bad given that Letizia and Sofia are going.

Exactly, I am very pro-Wiliam, but I won't be sugarcoating my disappointment. He needs to reconsider his priorities as PoW.

Carbon footprint? He's willing to cross the globe and go to Singapore for his very own Earthshot Prize. But flying to Australia -as the PRESIDENT OF THE FA- to support the Lionesses? Sorry Luv, can't do.
The Queen Consort of Spain can rearrange her schedule in short notice, but the POW can't, because the Windsors are just too special. Colour me shocked!

 

[tommy100]

The fact his father is (for now) Head of State in Australia but its too far to visit says alot and doesn't look good.

 

[Curryong]

Just my opinion as an Aussie here. I do not believe that the referenda on a First Nations consultative body in our Federal Parliament had anything whatsoever to do with William’s decision not to attend. People ARE discussing it, and as a newly retired social worker I do mix with those who consider this issue vital. However, even there discussions haven’t reached any sort of fever pitch. The referendum will probably happen in late October. In other words there is no Civil War brewing here about the referendum. So (imo) that wouldn’t enter the calculations of those advising William.

Some of the arguments do hold water, basically I think if the World Cup was in Europe William would be there in a heartbeat. However, as it is, he thought, I believe, that his environmental credentials would receive a boost from his refusing to go to this World Cup. I think that was a miscalculation in assessing public and media opinion in Britain, as we are seeing now.

His other reason, imo, is that he did not want to travel for 24 hrs to Aus and 24 back plus a day and night in Sydney to attend the women?s final because it would chew a large chunk off one week of the family holidays at this time of year.

And as he didn?t want to go for those two reasons, William used the carbon footprint reasoning/excuse not to. As I said, I think he and his advisers miscalculated. However it?s done now. If he changed his mind it would be seen as bowing to media and public pressure.

 

[yukari]

(...)

Nothing prevents William from pairing a visit to Sydney for the final with a few brief official engagements, thus making it a working visit. Perfectly defendable. It's a matter of willingness.

In the case of having other engagements to justify flying to Australia to watch the final, can those engagements realistically be arranged in 3 days (all the logistic involving those engagements including security and who'll cover the cost since it's outside WC scope). Because I don't think it will be as simple as arranging flight to Australia (if he's still "allowed" to fly commercial due to his heir status, which I don't believe to be true because I think he'll fly commercial to Singapore).

(Note, his visit to Singapore won't be for single occasion of the ESP ceremony only, but accompany by couple of other engagements which I suspect all the logistic already been finalised by now even though it won't happen until November)

Sure, it could be arranged months ago in anticipation of the England team reach the final, but then what if the team didn't reach the final? Cancel all those engagements after all the work of arranging it? Still go to Australia and watch the final (which he no longer have justification as FA president to be there since England didn't make it)?

All this fuss make me think how nice it was that this furor didn't happen to Catherine when Emma Raducanu reach US Open final. The last British woman reach that grandslam final was in the 60s too, shouldn't she fly to NY too to show support as ALT patron, after all we saw Felipe fly to England to support Alcatraz.

 

[Archduchess Zelia]

Realistically, it wouldn't have to be grandiose engagements where lots of security was needed. Meetings, private visits. Surely they could track down some organisations or institutions in Sydney within his areas of interest that he could visit to draw inspiration from or highlight?

I(...) All this fuss make me think how nice it was that this furor didn't happen to Catherine when Emma Raducanu reach US Open final. The last British woman reach that grandslam final was in the 60s too, shouldn't she fly to NY too to show support as ALT patron, after all we saw Felipe fly to England to support Alcatraz.

Don't think you can fault Kate, who has no affiliation with the US Open whatsoever, for not showing up in the US in 2021 (still very much during the COVID-19 epidemic).

Besides, it makes more sense to compare attendance (or the lack thereof) at Raducanu's US Open win to Andy Murray's win in 2012. Were any British royals present for Murray's win?

I don't think it's fair at all to compare Kate's patronage of the AELTC to William's presidency of the FA. Last time I checked, Kate was a frequent visitor at Wimbledon. Meanwhile, William is president of the national women's football team's federation and he can't be bothered to show at arguably the biggest final you can reach in international football...

 

[Mbruno]

Pffft. So? That's not a reason for a politician to show up at a sporting event. I certainly wouldn't expect the President of the US or Mexico or Canada's PM to show up at the WC Final in 2026 unless their country is playing in the game.

VP Al Gore was present at the 1994 Men's World Cup final in the USA, but normally the host country's head of state (or the head of government) attends FIFA World Cup finals, even when their countries are not playing in the final. One of the reasons is that they are normally invited to present the Cup (that is, the trophy) to the captain of the winning team.

 

[yukari]

Realistically, it wouldn't have to be grandiose engagements where lots of security was needed. Meetings, private visits. Surely they could track down some organisations or institutions in Sydney within his areas of interest that he could visit to draw inspiration from or highlight?

(...)

Assuming the person/organisations William wants to visit don't have anything else on the day of visit or willing to re-arrange it to accommodate the impromptu visit. I sure hope William will not think along the way that they should drop whatever they have for him as they should feel honour the recieve a visit from their future king.

This remind me of when I worked as field engineer in an oil and gas service company. At that time I was based in Sumatra. We had a new regional HR manager, while visiting our office in Jakarta this HR manager wanted to visit our base in Sumatra too with only 4 days notification. It was one of our busiest month that year so very likely all engineer and crews would be out on job and our base manager had a meeting with client scheduled on that day. In the end, this HR manager only met an engineer (me) and 2 crews (who were pulled from day off), janitor, and PA which I don't think what the HR manager had in mind because typical HR visit always involved them talking with several employees either one-on-one or in a group. (I was only back the day before and it was a small city so other then a short tour around what basically empty workshop, there's only few choices of "entertainment" until the flight back to Jakarta the day after).

 

[Archduchess Zelia]

You're seriously arguing that in all of Sydney, there's not one organisation that'd be able or willing to have William come by for a visit? ?

Again, there's always an excuse...

 

[W.Y.CII]

Arranging an impromptu visit is complicated and difficult, true.

However it should be a long-term planning. It's not that the team qualified for the tournament last minute all of a sudden. So what's the plan? Attending the matches or making it a short trip together with some other engagements? Okay it's confirmed that he wouldn't be there in person because it's too far/eco-unfriendly/undiplomatic/whatever reasons, so they had him visit the team beforehand, great. Then what if the team make it into the knockout stage? What if the team make it into the semifinal? What if the team make it into the final? What if the team won?

There should be some overall plans but as the president of FA, he seems totally absent throughout this tournament. I don't see W or KP putting any effort to be more engaged and they could do a bit more even if it is virtually (and again IMO reposting and typing few words on twitter doesn't count as a real effort). His team should be doing a better job than this.

There are still couples hours, let's see will his team do something (it's too late and it'll look like a damage control nonetheless).

 

[yukari]

You're seriously arguing that in all of Sydney, there's not one organisation that'd be able or willing to have William come by for a visit? ?

Again, there's always an excuse...

I just think that it's bad planning for a person in an important position (and bad manner in general) to do things on a whim just because (or in William's case, for additional excuses to justify flying to the the other side of the globe to watch 2 hrs match) which may or may not cause inconveniences to other people involved.

Maybe it's just me, but when I have to host a person of importance, I want to be prepared instead of being given a last minute notice where I have to scramble for everything in preparation, particularly if the said visit will be reported in the media because of course I want to look good as a host (I'm assuming by simple engagement, it isn't the typical private-unreported/unrecorded visit which W&C seems often do, because what's the point of having an excuse-engangements if it's not reported on the media).

 

[CrownPrincessJava]

I just think that it's bad planning for a person in an important position (and bad manner in general) to do things on a whim just because (or in William's case, for additional excuses to justify flying to the the other side of the globe to watch 2 hrs match) which may or may not cause inconveniences to other people involved.

Maybe it's just me, but when I have to host a person of importance, I want to be prepared instead of being given a last minute notice where I have to scramble for everything in preparation, particularly if the said visit will be reported in the media because of course I want to look good as a host (I'm assuming by simple engagement, it isn't the typical private-unreported/unrecorded visit which W&C seems often do, because what's the point of having an excuse-engangements if it's not reported on the media).

Australia is literally hosting the Queen of Spain and her daughter, and knew this on Wednesday. I'd say that's short notice too

 

[yukari]

Australia is literally hosting the Queen of Spain and her daughter, and knew this on Wednesday. I'd say that's short notice too

I'm not talking about Australia (or the World Cup organiser who I'm sure is well prepared to even hosting Biden or Kamala Harris last minute if USA were in final and any of them decided to be there), I'm talking about the hypothetical persons/organisations William would visit as his additional excuses to watch 2 hrs football match on the other side of the globe.

Does Queen Letizia also plan to have engagement/visiting organisations of her interest while in Australia? (Other than the Spain embassy of course).

Edit: I don't particularly care whether William attends the final or not. But if it were me, I wouldn't be happy to be a person scrambling for a last minute preparation of an impromptu visit just because someone want to watch a football match.

Another thing that grate on me is how people put too much importance on football as if it's the only sport that matter. I mean, William is also patron of Welsh rugby, would he ever go if Welsh happen to be in WC final? I don't think so (tbf, same as Catherine if England rugby team were in one) and I bet the backlash won't be like this because rugby is not as important as football, right?