Prince William and Kate won’t make the same “mistake twice” as they head to France this weekend.
The royal couple could risk backlash if they don’t attend a major event over the weekend…
Prince William and Princess Kate to watch the Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is set to kick off on Friday (September 8) in France. England will be playing Argentina on Saturday (September 8), whilst Wales will be playing Fiji on Sunday (September 9).
Prince William and Princess Kate will be heading across the Channel to support both England and Wales over the weekend.
The Princess of Wales has been the patron of England rugby since last year. Prince William, meanwhile, is the patron of the Welsh Rugby Union.
There has been some criticism levelled at the Waleses over their plans to jet over to France for the rugby, however.
Prince William did not travel to Australia for the Women’s World Cup Final to support the Lionesses last month. This is despite being president of the FA (Football Association).
His non-apperance sparked much backlash, especially considering that Queen Letizia of Spain had travelled to support Spain Women.
The cost of the trip and the carbon footprint involved were cited as reasons as to why he didn’t attend.
Princess Kate and Prince William won’t make same ‘mistake twice’
Speaking exclusively to ED!, Brand and Culture expert Nick Ede believes that going to the Rugby World Cup is a good move for the royal couple.
“The fact that the Prince and Princess of Wales are going to the Rugby World Cup is good from a PR point of view,” he told us.
“If they had stayed home then they would have received the same backlash that William did for missing the Women’s World Cup final,” he then continued.
Nick then went on to explain that France is much easier to get to for the royal couple.
“As a couple, they are great ambassadors for the UK so it’s good to see them supporting the team,” Nick continued.
“Also, although it’ll cause controversy with those asking why they didn’t go to the World Cup, they won’t make that mistake twice,” he then added.
Prince Andrew ‘using’ Waleses’ as royal PR shield
A few weeks back, William and Kate were spotted out on a drive with Prince Andrew. This led to speculation that the disgraced Duke had been welcomed back into the royal fold.
Speaking exclusively to ED!, PR expert Jordan James believed that Andrew was using the Waleses as a “royal PR shield“. This is so that he could ease himself back into public life.
“The photo-op with Prince Andrew isn’t necessarily a misstep for the future King and Queen, I’d say it’s more of a calculated gamble,” Jordan said.
“It could signal an attempt to rehabilitate Andrew’s public image, leveraging William and Kate‘s widespread popularity as a sort of ‘Royal PR shield’,” he then added.
“Essentially, they’re banking on their own goodwill to act as a conduit for Andrew’s potential re-entry into public favour,” he then explained.
Read more: Tension between Princess Kate and King over upbringing of royal children?
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