Duke of Cambridge and second in line to the British throne, Prince William, has attracted the ire of netizens with his comment calling the war in Europe an alien thing, unlike conflicts in Africa and Asia. Prince William, accompanied by his wife, Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton was visiting a Ukrainian Cultural Center in London where he made these remarks.
They met the volunteers helping with the humanitarian aid to the people affected by the war in Ukraine and extended their support to Ukraine. While discussing the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, the Duke of Cambridge said, “Britons were more used to seeing conflict in Africa and Asia. It is very alien to see this in Europe. We are all behind you.”
The comments from Prince William come about a year after the royal family faced very public accusations of racism over their treatment of Meghan Markle. While the Duke of Cambridge had said at the time that they are very much not racist, his latest comments betray a racist mindset. Expectedly, netizens were quick to point out to the Prince that not only is a war not an alien thing to Europe, but they also initiated the two worst wars seen in human history.
Writer RS Locke pointed out that William has a degree in Geography, attended Sandhurst military academy and is Colonel of the Irish Guards. So such an ignorant comment coming from him after all that education is really surprising.
BNC News Correspondent Astrid Martinez was quick to remind Prince William about the violence unleashed around the world due to European colonization, in addition to the bloody conflict in Bosnia in recent history.
Human Rights Lawyer Qasim Rashid wondered how can a member of the royal family make such a statement while having a 1000 years-long history of colonialism, and a long list of wars and genocides.
These are not the first comments from the west during this war that have highlighted the racist attitude prevailing in western societies. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, several journalists expressed their anguish as it was happening in Europe, and not in Africa or Middle East. on BBC News, Ukraine’s deputy chief prosecutor David Sakvarelidze explained that he was pained as blue-eyed Europeans with blonde hair were being killed. A journalist of CBS News found it hard to digest a war in ‘civilized’ Europe, unlike uncivilized Syria or Afghanistan.