Why Prince William’s bold move reminds me of Princess Diana

The future king was inspired to speak out on the Middle East conflict “as a father”.

Hi everyone,

It’s been quite the week for Prince William. He’d already announced a major building project to tackle homelessness on his land in Cornwall by the time he rubbed shoulders with A-listers at the Baftas on Sunday.

But he didn’t hang around to celebrate. After congratulating the winners, he headed straight home to Windsor for an early night before getting back to the school run the next morning.

So far, so normal for the Prince of Wales. But all that was about to change.

I was with Queen Camilla covering an event at Clarence House (see below), when I was alerted to an incoming statement from the heir to the throne, which quickly dominated the news agenda.

As he arrived at the British Red Cross headquarters in central London to hear more about efforts to support those suffering as a result of the conflict in Gaza and Israel, William issued a powerful 126-word message.

Sharing his concern over the “human cost” of the violence since the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, he said: “Too many have been killed.

“I, like so many others, want to see an end to the fighting as soon as possible. There is a desperate need for increased humanitarian support to Gaza. It’s critical that aid gets in and the hostages are released.”

On the eve of a crucial House of Commons vote on whether to call for an immediate ceasefire, this was a strong statement for a member of the royal family to make and one that attracted criticism and praise in equal measure.

Whatever your thoughts on the rights and wrongs of a future monarch intervening in such a contentious issue, I couldn’t help thinking of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, who was also criticised for speaking out.