Prince William made some unsavory jokes about the coronavirus a few weeks ago. Now that it's touching the royal family, it's not so funny.
Prince William recently stepped up as the royal family's face for its coronavirus response. At first, he appeared an obvious choice because he wasn't as vulnerable as his 71-year-old father, Prince Charles, and 93-year-old grandmother, Queen Elizabeth. It's important to note that the Queen is still very much involved in leading at this time. She's currently planning a special address to the UK in the coming weeks.
That also came into question, however. As reports indicated more young people are getting infected, royal fans were also shocked to see the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge making an appearance at a 111 call center. They visited to boost morale and learn more about response efforts.
Many royal fans felt they were putting themselves at unnecessary risk. Based on what was shared publicly, the visit could have been a Zoom meeting. Also, some believed their presence would distract already busy employees and impact call time.
Now that Prince Charles has tested positive for the coronavirus, William's shaky start on this issue is coming under fire.
Prince William's jokes about the coronavirus weren't funny to begin with. When the 37-year-old was overheard joking with a first responder in Ireland about the illness, his words already rang tone-deaf.
"I bet everyone's like 'I've got coronavirus, I'm dying,' and you're like 'no, you've just got a cough,'" the prince said. "Does it seem quite dramatic about coronavirus at the moment? Is it being a little hyped up, do you think, by the media?"
Later, he joked that he and Kate Middleton were spreading the coronavirus. Despite the initial dismissal of the tacky thoughts, it probably would have blown over for him. Nearly two weeks later, however, things were looking more serious.
As coronavirus concerns mounted around the world, there was an eerie silence from the royal family. The Clarence House social media accounts were quiet of any personal content from March 12 to 17.
The Royal Family account also featured no personal posts from March 13 to 17. William and Kate's Kensington Royal account followed suit, with no personal posts from March 9 to 17. Even the estranged Sussexes had no posts from March 11 to 18.
Many probably assumed it was because provisions were being set up to protect the royals. Now we know there may have been more going on behind the scenes. The Duke of Cambridge became the first to speak out on the matter on March 18 in a video message.
"Whenever and wherever adversity strikes, the people of the UK have a unique ability to pull together," William said. "The way that local communities support those affected shows the very best of our values and human nature."
Since William was involved with the National Emergencies Trust, it made sense for him to be the one speaking out in the video. However, a country in crisis expected to hear from its Queen.
At 93, the Queen's vulnerabilities would have excused her. She and Prince Philip were likely preparing for their early move to Windsor the following day. That would have left the ball in Prince Charles' court.
The 71-year-old prince has tested positive for COVID-19, it was revealed on Wednesday. This is likely what led to the silence on all royal fronts. William's takeover of the messaging rings a bit alarming in this context. It appears that whether by the instruction of The Firm or his own instinct, the idea in making William the royal family's face of its coronavirus response may have been a move to subtly reassure people of his capabilities should anything happen to his father.
It doesn't seem it will come to that, thankfully. "He has been displaying mild symptoms but otherwise remains in good health and has been working from home throughout the last few days as usual," the statement from Clarence House reads.
"The Duchess of Cornwall has also been tested but does not have the virus. In accordance with government and medical advice, the Prince and the Duchess are now self-isolating at home in Scotland."
"The tests were carried out by the NHS in Aberdeenshire where they met the criteria required for testing," the statement continued. "It is not possible to ascertain from whom the Prince caught the virus owing to the high number of engagements he carried out in his public role during recent weeks."
Charles had not seen Queen Elizabeth since early March 12. His earliest possible contagious date was determined to be March 13.
William is not the only royal putting a foot in his mouth over coronavirus comments, however. Just before the news of Charles' diagnosis was announced, Sarah Ferguson, ex-wife of Prince Andrew and mom to Beatrice and Eugenie, talked about it on Twitter. She insinuated it was a punishment from Mother Nature for disrespecting the planet.
With Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, Charles, and Camilla all self-isolating, William is left at the forefront of the coronavirus response. He and Kate and their children have gone to Anmer Hall, where they'll stay until Easter and reevaluate then.
There's been talk of William elevating to "a statesman role" as this unfolds. His plan does not seem to be leading by example.
You might think they would be more careful about William's actions after the coronavirus jokes, but his appearance at a 111 call center proved otherwise.
William and Kate's visit, which some noted had to be a distraction in an already stretched-thin work environment, featured some very deliberate hand sanitizer use. Various photos of the couple show they were not concerned with social distancing, however.
William also made a joke that didn't exactly land among the overworked emergency responders. "I think we are all going to have a lot of TV to watch in the next few weeks," he quipped. That may be true for him, but it couldn't be farther from reality for the people sitting in that call center.
Some royal watchers believe Harry and Meghan took a snipe at that in a post emphasizing the importance of social distancing and other measures people can take in their day-to-day lives. "For all of us, the best way we can support health workers is to make sure we do not make their job any harder by spreading this disease further," the caption read, in part.
Of course, they are also receiving blame for this. The couple has already been slammed online for keeping Archie from his grandparents and great-grandparents. Now Meghan is also being accused of keeping Harry away from his sick father, despite the fact that if he were in Scotland with him, he still wouldn't be able to be very close to him.
The royal family pressed on publicly for as long as they did in the spirit of service. However, they've found themselves in a terrible situation where it's put one of their own at risk. Thankfully, it seems like everyone will make it out of this OK.
As for William's reputation as a leader, that remains to be seen. It's good to see him step up, but the way it's happened so far leaves a bad taste in the mouth of some royal fans.
