To find Prince William a bit smug

[strawberriesandpecans]

I'm sure he means well, it's just that he seems to be lecturing everyone on the environment while he travels by helicopter a lot and has a mansion. Also I just find them quite twee and irritating, particularly at the moment when so many people are struggling. AIBU?

Of course being Royalty does mean a certain amount of expenditure and travelling. So, in a sense, does advocating for the environment.

But if they wanted to make a difference they could still let it be known that they are doing everything they can to keep their carbon footprint down in their private lives. They may have to fly across the globe to meet the president of wherever. They don't have to do it for their holiday. They don't have to do it to attend sports events unless they are actually filling a ceremonial role. I don't have a massive problem with them shooting- but I would like to see them explaining what to do to ensure birds of prey are not being killed to make room for their game.

One of the problems for me is, what are his credentials on this topic? It's not like we need a famous face to raise awareness about the environment

I think in circumstances where you are literally going to be king it would be difficult to not be a bit smug.

I find it just staggering that anyone from the royal family can lecture us about the environment when they take private jets all over the world, drive huge range rovers all over the country, hunt and kill animals for sport every single winter. Eat meat, and think nothing of supporting the big game killing in Africa!!! The running and environmental costs of running such huge royal residences could easily power at least a few domestic violence shelters.

Has anyone pointed that out to Prince George? They need to look closer to home if they want to know who is responsible for this.

And yet somehow they think they can preach to us? Just who do they think they are?

Why are we having to listen to anything they have to say on the subject given their track record??

It is beyond hypocrisy to me. It makes my blood boil with rage.

I like William, Kate and their children.

On the surface he seems a nice enough guy .However he is not alone in this hand wringing over the enviroment (a serious issue obv) Many wealthy upper class people and film stars, seem to wish to lecture us while still carrying on their own lifestyles! Prefer him to his DB and MM though .They have gone to America (fair enough IMO) but still want to lecture us over here! Enough already!

William will be out hunting this weekend no doubt!

It is a joke!

The born wealthy will never understand because it's never been remotely close to their world.

I wouldn't consider myself as wealthy, but there are many things which aren't remotely close to my world that I can quite easily understand.

Don't forget this was a child who was brought up by a mother who took them to homeless shelters and taught them never to forget there are people who have nothing.

He hasn't had a chance to show yet how he will be as a monarch, but I think it is already obvious he is going to be different from his grandmother.

He is using his voice to talk about a subject he cares about. Ridiculous to suggest that because he can't travel everywhere by bike or public transport, he shouldn't do that.

At least he is using his position to pass on an important and relevant message.

Just because he is privileged in terms of position and wealth, I actually would hate his life - boarding school, mother dying at a young age, media following and reporting on everything he does, everyone in the world knowing who you are so no privacy, plus a the massive burden of being first in line to throne. He is a strong person to cope with all of this. I respect him for always trying to do the right thing.

For me the price of all that would be too high, I would rather be free. His life must be like being in the Truman show. In the UK you can live a great life without having to have all that pressure on you!!!!

Well, he is the future King so I think living in a big house is fitting.

There's a big house and then there's what the royals actually enjoy in their opulent lives.

I don't think anybody is expecting him to move to a bedsit in Prestatyn btu if you know you have everything extremely nicely, it's not very wise to do the whole 'Let them eat cake' thing.

"I won £150m on the Euromillions several years ago and it's so nice never to have to go out to work any more or worry about paying my bills and to order my butler to fetch me anything I fancy - but AIBU to think that people surviving on NMW are just lazy and simply need to try a lot harder?"

This is William justifying killing animals in Africa just a few years ago:

www.independent.co.uk/news/people/prince-william-criticised-claiming-trophy-hunting-justified-some-circumstances-a6933906.html

Fast forward a few years and we all have to pretend that they are not in the cotswolds hunting at the weekends, as he lectures the world on how we can take better care of the world.

I don't mind the RF, but I don't like people that practice hypocrisy and deceit.

@katy1213

Royalty should be seen and not heard.

i think you just hit the nail on the proverbial here.

Well said that woman

The way to solve the conundrum of how should he act, is not to have a royal family.

A monarch is one thing if that’s what we seem to want, but just leave the others to be private citizens (living off their vast inherited wealth but nothing further from the taxpayer) until they take over as monarch.

TBF most people would be smug in the same position and many are smug even without it.

Any thread on here involves a fair amount of people passing a kind of judgement on the actions of others, whilst not being able to stand up to a similar level of scrutiny over their own actions. Most would seem hypocritical if their actions were open to be judged on the same level.

None of which means I think the RF should be protected from criticism and scrutiny and/or reviews over whether or not we want to keep such an institution going.

I think they're so hypocritical, talking about how we're all in this together. I'm sorry but they have no idea what its like wondering if you'll be able to feed your kids queuing at a foodbank, wondering if you can heat your house, will you still have a job?
Its so bloody patronising, telling us to look after the environment when they're taking their private helicopters here there and everywhere between the endless number of royal palaces and residences. Telling us they know its hard sitting in front of gold covered pianos and paying £15k for some flights for Prince Andrew to watch the golf whist Prince Charles breaks Covid rules this year.
Don't tell us we're all in this together when even the law can't touch them and they're only worry is about the next bad headline!

I think they also over estimate our collective interest in their children. That recent David Attenborough thing was so cringeworthy. They are exactly as cute or not cute as everyone else’s children!

I don't like him and never have. I used to like Kate but find her pretty smug and annoying too.
They try and act like they know how the public feel and how awful lockdown was when they clearly didn't have a clue (my children probably would have enjoyed lockdown in a ten bedroom house with a tennis court, swimming pool and acres of land).
I hate it when they say things like giving their children a normal childhood because it's not normal.
I hate it when William goes on about the environment despite his numerous flights.
I hate that they could do so much good with their money but don't.
And I hate the photos of them being wonderful, fun parents. Probably staged and who gives a fuck.

But not everyone is lecturing others on a subject that they do not even come close to achieving themselves make

IF they gave up their huge houses, gas guzzlers, private jets, stopped hunting and genuinely made inroads to practising what they preach, they would earn a great deal more respect than they do now!

@katy1213

Royalty should be seen and not heard.

Yep. Smile, wave, cut ribbons and give us the occasional bit of pageantry or juicy gossip.

But other than that we really don't want to see, much less hear, from you.

They would do very well to stop being so smug, after all it won't take much to turn the tide of opinion post covid, we are all going to be paying off huge sums of public debt.

But other than that we really don't want to see, much less hear from you

Quite.

And we can certainly do without your hypocritical lectures from both sides of the bloody pond.

Absolutely sick of it.

@Friendsoftheearth

It has as much to do with competing for the headlines and the wokeness with Harry as it has to do anything else I imagine.

Almost like they sat down and said how can we be more woke than H&M and came up with this, complete with little kids beaming at us about their favourite animals. A PR game plan to outsmart Archiewell. I expect it to get a lot worse if anything.

This is not for us, or the planet it is to score a win over Harry.

I wondered that too @Friendsoftheearth what 7 year old says - (of the state of the planet): 'how has it come to this?' without being fed that line?

I don't see why he couldn't carry on being a helicopter pilot.

Yes. Annoying. But not as annoying as when I saw Princess Diana described in a newspaper as a 'single mum'.