Royals: Queen apparently dissatisfied with climate efforts

Royals
Queen apparently dissatisfied with climate efforts

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday in Cardiff, where she opened the Welsh Parliament. Photo: Jacob King / PA Wire / dpa

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The British Queen Elizabeth II does not comment publicly on the political events. In a private conversation, however, she is said to have criticized the efforts to combat climate change.

In rare personal comments, Queen Elizabeth II (95) has apparently criticized efforts to combat climate change, according to the British media.

The news agency PA and the broadcaster Sky News reported on Friday, citing private video recordings. Accordingly, in a conversation with her daughter-in-law Duchess Camilla and the Welsh Parliament Speaker Elin Jones in Cardiff with a view to the upcoming UN climate conference COP26 in Glasgow, the Queen said it was “irritating” when “they talk but don’t act”.

Parts of the recordings are incomprehensible, according to the media. The Queen, like heir to the throne, Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, as well as her grandson Prince William and Duchess Kate, want to take part in the COP, which begins in a little over two weeks.

Private statements, especially on political issues, are taboo for the Queen. Your role is purely representative. At the traditional opening of Parliament in London, she stoically reads the text given to her by the incumbent Prime Minister. How the Queen feels about Prime Minister Boris Johnson or what she thinks of Brexit – all not known. When she once wore a blue hat with stars, some observers interpreted it as a statement about the EU.

Transport Minister Grant Shapps stressed on Friday that it was a private conversation. “I think your statements were not intended for publication,” Shapps said in an interview with Sky News. “I think private statements should be kept private, but we would all like to see more progress (on climate change) and we know hundreds of leaders will be coming to the COP in Glasgow.”

In the conversation recorded on Thursday, Welsh MP Jones referred to statements by Prince William, who had criticized the space tourism of billionaires like Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. “The smartest minds in the world should focus on fixing this planet instead of trying to find the next place to go to live,” said the prince in a BBC interview published on Thursday.

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