Queen Elizabeth has not one but two of her successors holding down the fort at this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference.
Prince Charles, Camilla Parker Bowles, Prince William and Kate Middleton attended the opening day of the conference, also known as COP26. During the event, the foursome joined heads of state and world leaders at a reception. While Her Majesty could not attend, she delivered a speech via video message. See the full speech below.
The 95-year-old monarch began, “I am delighted to welcome you all to the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference; and it is perhaps fitting that you have come together in Glasgow, once a heartland of the industrial revolution, but now a place to address climate change. This is a duty I am especially happy to discharge, as the impact of the environment on human progress was a subject close to the heart of my dear late husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.”
In a rare turn of events, the queen even spoke out about her two successors, Charles and William. “It is a source of great pride to me that the leading role my husband played in encouraging people to protect our fragile planet, lives on through the work of our eldest son, Charles, and his eldest son, William. I could not be more proud of them.”
She continued, “I, for one, hope that this conference will be one of those rare occasions where everyone will have the chance to rise above the politics of the moment and achieve true statesmanship. It is the hope of many that the legacy of this summit—written in history books yet to be printed—will describe you as the leaders who did not pass up the opportunity and that you answered the call of those future generations.”
The queen has quite the strong team representing her.
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