Following the 80th anniversary of D-Day commemorations in Normandy, Prince William has been telling everyone that he’s an “emerging statesman,” a world-class diplomat and a very important future king on the global stage. It’s true that William was the biggest British name at the Omaha Beach event on D-Day. King Charles visited the British Normandy Memorial and then left before the Omaha Beach event. But what was weird is that Charles and Camilla weren’t the only ones who left before the big world-leader event on Omaha Beach. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also left early – apparently, he rushed back to the UK to give some interviews as part of the upcoming general election. That’s the only reason why William was seated in the front row of the Omaha Beach ceremony – it should have been Sunak, but he wasn’t there. From the Mail’s Ephraim Hardcastle column:
Could Rishi blame the King for his D-Day muddle? Buckingham Palace provided Downing Street with advance notice that Charles would be missing the international ceremony, principally on medical advice.
It was this announcement which seems to have made Sunak and his acolytes think it was all right to head home early as well.
If the King had stayed, Sunak couldn’t have sneaked off. What no one in Sunak’s team noticed was that the King had appointed Prince William as his official representative for the international ceremony. That backfired. William, as the senior Briton present and representing the head of state, should have been photographed with Biden et al instead of David Cameron. The heir was sidelined.
It’s interesting that the Mail is saying that “the heir was sidelined” while the heir has been briefing every rota reporter that he’s a big-boy statesman because of the D-Day events. While William did shake hands with several world leaders (Emmanuel Macron, Justin Trudeau, President Biden), it’s not like anyone takes him seriously. It also feels like the Mail is indicating that it was pretty insulting to Britain’s allies that neither King Charles nor PM Sunak bothered to go to the Omaha Beach event and they were fine sending the angry egg. I know the Mail is pointing out Sunak’s fumble – and it is insulting that he rushed home to do an interview – but make no mistake, they’re poking William too.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.