Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II has appeared to suggest that she is frustrated that leaders “talk” about dealing with the alleged climate crisis but do not “do”, seemingly taking a similar environmentalist position to her son and grandsons.
The remarks were caught on tape when Queen Elizabeth II was attending the opening of the Welsh assembly on Thursday.
During a conversation with her daughter-in-law Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, and the Presiding Officer of the Senedd, Elin Jones, the Queen is reported to have said in comments noted by The Times: “I’ve been hearing all about Cop [the climate conference in Glasgow next month]… still don’t know who is coming… no idea.”
The Queen then says to Ms Jones: “We only know about people who are not coming… it is very irritating when they talk, but they don’t do.”
The Welsh politician replied: “Exactly, and it’s a time for doing, and watching your grandson [Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge] on television this morning saying there is no point going to space, we need to save the earth.”
The Queen is then reported to have smiled and responded: “Yes, I read about it.”
The comments were also reported by The Guardian and Sky News amongst other major British news outlets.
Ms Jones was referring to Prince William, the second in line to the throne, scolding entrepreneurs for spending their talents, efforts, and money on the advancement of space exploration, claiming that they should be “fixed on trying to repair this planet, not trying to find the next place to go and live”.
The prince’s comments appear to be a criticism of the likes of private figures like Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, British entrepreneur Richard Branson, and Tesla’s Elon Musk, who are each developing space tourism as well as other off-planet endeavours, such as Musk’s Starlink lower orbit satellite system, which aims to deliver internet to everywhere in the world, and his SpaceX flights, which recently delivered a new crew to the International Space Station (ISS) employing reusable rockets and capsules.
Prince William had also said in his BBC interview on Thursday: “I think for Cop to communicate very clearly and very honestly what the problems are and what the solutions are going to be is critical.
“We can’t have more clever speak, clever words but not enough action.”
Responding to the reported comments by the British monarch, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told Sky News on Friday that the comments were “made in private” and “should stay private”, adding: “I don’t think her comments were for broadcast.”
However, royal commentators have said that the Queen’s remarks were likely deliberately intended to be heard, as the 95-year-old monarch, who has been on the throne for nearly 70 years, is unlikely to have made the amateur mistake of being caught on a hot mic.
Veteran royal biographer Andrew Morton said that the Queen deliberately makes comments meant to be heard even if not directed at an audience or microphone directly, to express her “depth of feeling” on issues.
Rupert Bell, royal correspondent for talkRADIO, said: “She is not entirely stupid. She knows there are microphones everywhere.”
However, Mr Bell added that it could be that the Queen is not making a political statement, but is frustrated in the “I haven’t got my dinner party list right” kind of way.
Royal commentator Dickie Arbiter added that he also thinks the Queen wanted the public to overhear her comments.
Her late husband Prince Philip was a long-time wildlife conservationist, having held presidencies at the WWF for 35 years.
But their son Prince Charles and grandson Prince Harry are more known for their focus on allegedly manmade climate change, with Prince Charles recently claiming to understand the “frustration” of far-left eco-extremists such as those in Extinction Rebellion and Insulate Britain.