AMANDA PLATELL: William, your subjects want ONE thing from you. It's time to stop being so oblivious - and just do it
Prince William's no-show at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War was bewildering – and enough to make many of us worry about our future King's priorities.
Was it really more important for him to make a speech at the discredited COP30 UN climate change summit and visit a remote island in Brazil than be here on this island, this Britain, honouring our war dead and marking one of the most important days in history?
Yes, he was back in time to lay a wreath at The Cenotaph the next day, but his absence in the Royal Box was all too conspicuous on Saturday night. His place alongside King Charles, Queen Camilla and Princess Catherine was taken up nobly by his son George, just 12.
No one will have missed the fact that William is dedicated to solving the world's climate problems, to save the planet for his children and his children's children.
Yet was anyone captivated by his 'impassioned' speech or his worthy yet underwhelming Earthshot Prize awards on TV?
An article in the India Times had a point when it highlighted the fact that the Prince flew 5,500 miles to Brazil to lecture the world on climate change.
COP is a talking shop for the self-aggrandising rich, the puffed-up and powerful, pontificating about how to save the world as they arrive in their gas-guzzling private jets. Since the Conference of the Parties (COP) climate gatherings started 30 years ago in 1995, greenhouse gas emissions worldwide have increased by 65 per cent. Hardly a successful record!
Far better than that hand-wringing speech and the week of photo opportunities in Brazil – playing beach volleyball, hugging babies, taking selfies with the locals and visiting indigenous tribes – would have been for William to have gone to the Royal Albert Hall here in Blighty.
In William's absence, Prince George, 12, stepped in beside his mother during the Festival of Remembrance at London's Royal Albert Hall
Prince William's priorities were on the other side of the world as he attended COP30 in Brazil alongside Sir Keir Starmer
However, William did return in time to lay a wreath at The Cenotaph in London on Remembrance Sunday
It should have been an unmissable event in his diary and his absence is a worrying indication of what royal duties now take precedence in his life.
He and his family were also a no-show for the traditional annual Easter church service and walkabout at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in April, choosing instead to spend family time in Norfolk with Kate and the kids.
It's an understandable sentiment, but Easter is seen as the most important date in the Christian calendar and whether he likes it or not, William will one day be Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Attendance at such events comes with the job description.
My fear is that William, rushing around the world to lecture us on climate change, comes across as turning his focus away from people's every day concerns. At a time when a recent Ipsos poll revealed national pride has plummeted and British society is now more divided than ever, he should be seizing every opportunity to restore a sense of patriotism and belief in Britain, to rekindle the magic of the monarchy.
But is our future king doing so? In his book The Windsor Legacy, recently serialised in the Daily Mail, royal author Robert Jobson revealed that last year William told the King he wanted to reduce his workload to ten royal engagements for the rest of the year – presumably as he wanted to take care of Kate who is in remission from cancer. King Charles, who is still working full pelt while undergoing his own cancer treatment, emphatically refused the request, telling his son to 'think again'.
William may understandably be bowed down with the heavy expectation he has had to bear since birth, with the duty of one day becoming King.
And despite his vast wealth, including a private annual income of £23million from the Duchy of Cornwall, life has dealt him a harsh hand – he lost his mother so young, his father Charles and wife Kate have been battling serious illness, and he no longer talks to his brother Harry.
Yet the answer is not to shrink away from royal duties here in Britain; it is to take heed of the ordinary people who truly want the monarchy to succeed in an increasingly fragile world where republicans are on the march.
As his wise grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth, once said: 'When life seems hard, the courageous do not lie down and accept defeat; instead they are more determined to struggle for a better future.'
Another of her great sayings was: 'I have to be seen to be believed.'
And I'm sure she didn't mean being seen at a COP summit on the other side of the world.
