bitchy | ‘Statesman’ Prince William is being praised for attending Pope Francis’s funeral

As we discussed on Sunday, Prince Harry stepped out at the Living Legends of Aviation event on Friday, specifically to honor the California firefighters and aerial crews who saved Southern California during the fires earlier this year. Then, on Saturday, Prince William was forced to attend Pope Francis’s funeral in Rome and Vatican City. Apparently, William tried to avoid attending because Aston Villa was also playing on Saturday. This side-by-side comparison of Harry and William both being out and about within a 24-hour period was obviously seized upon by the British papers, who tried to make it sound like “William does solemn duty while Harry parties with movie stars.” The Telegraph’s headline was just that: “Harry speaks at LA awards as Prince William attends Pope’s funeral.” Which is unfortunate, because the Telegraph’s piece was actually kind of nice, with LLOA attendees praising Harry for turning up to honor the firefighters even though Harry has “very much shied away from these types of events since he moved to California five years ago.”

So, basically, the royalist media was working overtime to compare William favorably to his brother and embiggen William as a “statesman.” This was William’s reward for being dragged kicking and screaming to a state funeral. From the Daily Beast’s Royalist column:

Prince William took a major step into his future life as a global statesman Saturday, attending the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome on behalf of his ailing father, King Charles III. The gorgeous ceremony in St. Peter’s Square unfolded under blue skies, drawing a cornucopia of world leaders in an extraordinary display of global power. In a crowd that included kings, queens, and heads of state, the Prince of Wales’s presence marked a significant milestone in his evolution.

King Charles, who is undergoing cancer treatment, decided not to travel.

Time, then, for William to assume more duties.

The guest list at the Vatican was a who’s who of world figures: President Donald Trump was unexpectedly given a front-row seat at the funeral mass, as was Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky (the two managed a brief meeting before the service). Nearby sat France’s President Emmanuel Macron alongside European royals such as King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain.

Be in no doubt: William’s appearance was a dry run for his future role as king, and the 42-year-old prince carried himself with the necessary gravitas and diplomacy, all welcome signs of his growing confidence on the international stage.

The experience will serve William well in the years ahead, as Charles’s health issues mean the Prince of Wales will likely have to step up sooner rather than later.

This is the way the press communicates with a 42-year-old heir to the throne: you’re such a big boy, such an important global statesman, you deserve all of the praise for skipping a football match for this, but (whispering)… you know you’re supposed to do a lot more of this, right? I also glanced through the Telegraph’s coverage of William’s appearance in Rome, and they just gave a list of all of the people who were seated around William at the funeral mass, then declared that the funeral appearance was “a major milestone in the Prince’s developing role as a global statesman as he continued to build the personal, international relationships that his father and late grandmother had before him.” Then the Telegraph mentioned that poor Peggy had to miss the Aston Villa match.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.