Late Queen ‘would have been aghast at William’s intervention on Gaza’
THE late Queen would have been ‘ aghast’ at Prince William’s statement on the Gaza conflict, according to The Reaction, the Mail’s must-see talk show.
In a new episode out last night, Mail columnists Sarah Vine and Andrew Pierce questioned the timing of the Prince of Wales’ comments on events in the Middle East, which were released the day before a debate in the Commons.
And the pair questioned if the ‘impassioned’ statement, calling for an end to the fighting in Gaza, was influenced by others, particularly Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron.
After the future king’s extraordinary intervention – in which he talked of the ‘terrible human cost’ of a war that has seen ‘too many killed’ – Pierce said he believed the late Queen would have been ‘aghast at what he’s done’.
He said: ‘It is no coincidence that Her Majesty the Queen, one of the most travelled heads of state ever, in her 70-year reign, never went to Israel. Because the Foreign Office wouldn’t let her go to Israel because it was loaded with political symbolism and significance.
‘And I think the Queen would be aghast at what he’s done.
‘Because do you remember she got involved in the Scottish independence referendum – all she said on a walkabout was, “I do hope people will think carefully before the way they vote”. But she didn’t make a written statement, very dramatic on black backing, talking about the “darkest hour”... well, that’s Churchillian.’
He then went on to question whether Lord Cameron, who has been ‘pushing for a ceasefire’, was involved in the statement released by Kensington Palace shortly before William arrived for a visit to the London headquarters of the Red Cross.
Pierce told the show: ‘The Government had to have signed this statement off. The
Foreign Office would have been all over it. I smell Lord Cameron’s influence in all of this.
‘People tell me he is involved. Has David Cameron put the future king up to this? If he has, he hasn’t done him any great service, in my view.’
Asked if Rishi Sunak or anyone else in government asked the Prince of Wales to make the statement, a spokesman for the PM said: ‘As a matter of course we would never get into conversations with the Palace, so we can’t provide guidance on that basis, but we welcome his comments which echo points that the PM has made and are important to make.’
Ms Vine said: ‘I’m sure it’s not William’s intention to influence the outcome of a parliamentary vote, because that really would be constitutionally quite tricky, but whoever is advising him might have wanted to point this out.’
The Reaction, which sees our columnists and special guests share their insights and views on the biggest topics of the day, is broadcast at 6pm every Wednesday on the Daily Mail’s YouTube channel.
‘I smell Cameron’s influence’