Prince William's comment on the coronavirus crisis is raising a few eyebrows

Prince William

Prince William has been named as the new patron of the National Emergencies Trust, but his comments on the coronavirus crisis have caused some controversy online.

It was announced yesterday that Prince William would be adding Patron of the National Emergencies Trust to his current duties.

The announcement came at the same time the organisation revealed it recently had distributed £5m of funding among charities across the UK to help them deal with the coronavirus outbreak.

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Speaking of the appointment, Lord Dannatt, Chairman of the National Emergencies Trust, said, “After his steadfast support for the National Emergencies Trust from our launch last November through into this Coronavirus Appeal, all connected with the NET are delighted that The Duke of Cambridge has honoured our work by becoming our Patron for 2020.

"We look forward to working with him, and our partners in the UK Community Foundation network, to help communities across the country tackle the dramatic rise in food poverty as well as the many other increasingly pressing social issues arising from this crisis.”

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Prince William also commented on the announcement, saying, “I think Britain is at its best when faced with a crisis. We all pull together and that community spirit comes rushing back quicker than anything else.”

However, despite his comments being made to praise Britons for their strong sense of community (which we've been documenting in our Good News series), they were met with a lot of backlash online.

Prince William was trending on Twitter, with plenty of people arguing criticising his comment.

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One said, ‘I am sorry but prince William is talking rubbish, Britain doesn't want a crisis to be at it best l just want Life to be normal again William is living in a privilege position where the normal stresses of life don't exist.’

‘I don't know about you but I'd rather that my country isn't "at its best" when over 10,000, and counting, people die’, another added.

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‘Oh yes - we're all at our best when people are dying from a virus. C'mon William I like you but this...’, a third also commented.

However, others pointed out that his comment was taken out of context. One said, ‘I think everyone is taking Prince William’s comments out of context and far too literally.’

What do you think about the discussion? Head over to our Facebook page and let us know, we’d love to hear you take!

Mariana Cerqueira

Mariana is the managing editor of woman&home. She has previously worked for lifestyle titles including GoodtoKnow covering all aspects of women’s lifestyle - from the Royal Family, beauty and fashion to wellness and travel. She was nominated for AOP Digital Journalist of the Year in 2020, and for New Digital Talent of the Year at the 2016 PPA Digital Awards. She’s mildly obsessed with TV (reality TV shows included) and spends far too much time planning her next trip away.