Why Prince William Was Just Publicly Booed At A Huge Event
Prince William got a stark reminder of how certain corners of the world view Britain, and in particular the royal family, after his recent, disastrous overseas trip. Kate Middleton and William reportedly felt introspective after their dramatic royal tour, with the celebrity couple taking a step back to reconsider how such sojourns should be planned going forward if they should even continue at all. As the Daily Mail reports, there was an intense backlash to the Cambridges' arrival in the Caribbean. In fact, they were forced to cancel the very first stop of the tour after local protests.
Daily Mirror royal editor Russell Myers argued, during an appearance on 9 News Australia (via Express), that William and Kate should've anticipated what they were getting themselves into. "This trip down memory lane to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee where she was adored many decades ago. It's just simply not the world we live in now," he clarified. "People are really questioning and institutions are questioning how they operate [but] it doesn't seem the Royal Family have done this." Behind the scenes, though, the couple is reconsidering their approach.
The Cambridges are even looking to diversify their in-house team, according to a report in The Mirror. Suffice to say, times are changing, and the royal couple is doing their best to be at the forefront of that change. However, the response to William's arrival at a recent public event suggests sentiment may be turning against them at home, too.
Football fans really weren't happy to see Prince William
Prince William didn't get the warm welcome he expected upon rocking up to the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium. Express notes the Duke of Cambridge, who is actually the president of the Football Association, was booed by fans gathered to watch the event when he was introduced during pre-match coverage on the BBC. Onlookers continued to jeer the prince as he walked down the pitch to greet members of the Chelsea and Liverpool soccer teams. Certain fans also booed the national anthem.
Omid Scobie, a royal commentator and noted friend of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, shared footage of the moment on Twitter. Scobie suggested the issue was the alleged cover-up of what really happened during the Hillsborough disaster, which occurred at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final and led to the deaths of 97 people, per BBC News.
Members of Parliament condemned the booing to the Daily Mail, with Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle noting, "The FA Cup final should be an occasion when we come together as a country. It should not be ruined by a minority of fans' totally shameful behavior." He pointed out the move was particularly offensive in the queen's Platinum Jubilee year.
Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said, "Those fans who booed do not represent their clubs or our country." There have even been calls for the FA to take action.
Everything to know about why Prince William was booed
After the booing, U.K. politicians such as former Conservative Party culture secretary Karen Bradley have called for consequences, with many placing thee blame on Liverpool's fanbase (via Newsweek). The Hillsborough disaster wasn't just an absolute tragedy because of the resulting deaths— Liverpool fans were initially blamed for it, but later investigations showed it actually had far more to do with police mistakes (via The Guardian). This led to many people's widespread distrust of the establishment, which at the time included Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the Conservative Party, and the monarchy.
While Prince William getting booed at the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium seemed to be directly related to growing negative sentiments towards the royals, it probably has much more to do with the Hillsborough disaster and long-standing opinions in Liverpool about the monarchy. Associate editor of the Daily Mirror Kevin Maguire explained to Good Morning Britain: "There is a long tradition of Liverpool fans going back to the 1980s and Thatcher and they're not booing the queen, it's booing the establishment."
Still, many people are not happy with the booing, and see it as an affront to Prince William himself. One Twitter user pointed at the lack of coverage about the monarch getting booed. "No mention of Prince William being booed on live TV," they wrote. "If that had happened to Prince Harry, we would have been subjected to the tedious opinions of at least two 'royal experts' by now."
William is concerned about the royal family's reputation
Although there was plenty of support for Prince William, several people pointed out the double standard at play in the response. "Booing Prince William is deemed 'abuse'. But Meghan Markle should have endured years of relentless racist and bigoted harassment with a smile on her face. Did I get that right, UK Media?" wrote one Twitter user. Likewise, the fact that soccer players themselves have been subject to racist abuse that went unremarked upon by politicians and the media alike was also noted.
William is reportedly scared of conversing with Meghan and Harry because he's concerned about what they might say about him in the press, which feeds into the duke's overall worries about the future of the monarchy. After all, William was the one who infamously claimed "we are very much not a racist family" after Meghan discussed the racism she'd allegedly faced.
He's reportedly also worried about the kind of furor the Sussexes' presence at the upcoming Platinum Jubilee celebrations could cause. An insider told The Sun, "William wants to talk to Harry to try to heal the rift between them but he's fearful it will find its way on to Netflix, Oprah or into Harry's upcoming book." As royal biographer, Tom Bower, explained, "Kate and William would be foolish not to be suspicious and would be unwise not to be cautious."