Queen fails to mention Sussexes in touching Cop26 speech

The Queen has urged world leaders attending the Cop26 conference to work together in “common cause” to tackle climate change and “solve the most insurmountable problems”.

In a video message played during a welcoming reception for the presidents and prime ministers present, she hoped the summit’s legacy would be that they recognised “the time for words has now moved to the time for action”.

The Queen also paid a heartfelt tribute to “my dear late husband” the Duke of Edinburgh for his environmental awareness in raising the issue more than 50 years ago, also praising her son Prince Charles and grandson Prince William for their environmental efforts.

"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," the 95-year-old monarch said.

"I could not be more proud of them."

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It has been noted however that the Queen did not make any mention of Prince Harry or wife Meghan Markle.

The Duke of Sussex has previously said that becoming a father galvanised his efforts to tackle environmental issues and the climate crisis, launching his eco-travel initiative Travelyst in 2019.

Back in May, Harry also spoke out about his climate fears in the Apple TV+ special, The Me You Can’t See: A Path Forward, saying: “With kids growing up in today’s world, pretty depressing, right, depending on where you live, your home country is either on fire, it’s either underwater, houses or forests are being flattened.”

And most recently, both Harry and Meghan appeared at the Global Citizen Live concert, during which the organisation called on the US to halve its greenhouse emissions by 2030 and for wealthy nations to help developing countries go green.

Prince Philip was an environmentalist and championed the natural world long before it was at the forefront of people's minds as it is today.

He was president of the WWF – World Wildlife Fund – from 1981 to 1996 and famously drove an eco-friendly taxi around the streets of London decades before green vehicles were more widely used.

William recently held the inaugural prize-giving ceremony for his environmental Earthshot Prize which aims to find solutions to the world’s problems like providing clean air or clearing plastics from the sea. He also called out the billion dollar space race industry.

While Charles has spent much of his adult life highlighting the threat posed to the environment by human activity and trying to mitigate it.

The Queen wore a butterfly brooch as she spoke, seated in front of a photograph of Philip admiring butterflies in Mexico in 1988.

“In the coming days, the world has the chance to join in the shared objective of creating a safer, stabler future for our people and for the planet on which we depend," the Queen continued.

“None of us underestimates the challenges ahead: but history has shown that when nations come together in common cause, there is always room for hope. Working side by side, we have the ability to solve the most insurmountable problems and to triumph over the greatest of adversities.”

“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."

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