Prince William Under Fire For Racism After Claiming War Is ‘Very Alien’ In Europe, Leading People To Believe He Meant It Is Normal In Africa And Asia

Photo: Britain's Prince William visits the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London, Nov. 17, 2021. (Yui Mok/Pool Photo via AP)

Written by Isheka N. Harrison

Mar 10, 2022

Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, is under fire for making some comments perceived as racist – again.

He and his wife, Duchess Kate Middleton, visited London’s Ukrainian Cultural Centre on Wednesday, March 9 in a show of solidarity with the war-torn country.

“We’re horrified … For our generation, it’s very alien to see this happen in Europe. We are all behind you. We’re thinking about you,” Prince William said as he spoke of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, The Daily Mail reported. “We feel so useless,” he added.

After reports and footage of Prince William’s comments began circulating, many on social media interpreted them as the Duke saying he saw these types of conflicts regularly in Africa and Asia. Some challenged his stance that war was, in fact, “very alien” to Europe.

The hashtag #PrinceWilliamIsARacist was trending on Twitter Thursday, March 10. Below are some social media users’ reactions to Prince William’s comments.

I believe that we have a great deal of work to do globally to eradicate what my father called the Triple Evils of Militarism, Racism and Poverty.

I believe that language matters in that work. And that it is harmful for a global figure to express war as “alien to Europe.”
— Be A King (@BerniceKing) March 10, 2022

#ICYMI: Prince William said it's rather normal to see war and bloodshed in Africa and Asia but not Europe, during a visit to the Ukrainian Cultural Centre in London today. "It's very alien to see this in Europe. We are all behind you," he told the volunteers there. pic.twitter.com/YfWtJuCgNs
— Nadine White (@Nadine_Writes) March 9, 2022

Europe cannibalized itself twice in a single century and is going for a third in this one. Hell, his grandmother lived through the Blitz. https://t.co/kon0NMFjKS
— Abdullah Henmemit (@henmemit) March 10, 2022

Not Prince William telling on himself as the racist concerned about Archie’s skin tone . No wonder his brother can’t stand his racist bald ass , yes we get why the relationship is “ space ” . #PrinceWilliamisaracist pic.twitter.com/hMPnZFpwHx
— Maria (@thescientistma) March 10, 2022

Prince William said it's 'alien' in Europe & his apologists think it absolves him from justified outrage at his words. If what he's seeing in #UkraineWar is 'alien' in Europe tell me where it's normal? Especially since the outrage at West media for saying same

Gaslighting galore https://t.co/6GArTg4uL3
— Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu (@SholaMos1) March 10, 2022

https://twitter.com/Gomoka_/status/1501972951083720709

This war has exposed white supremacist and double standards- from the BBC to Prince William.

They showed their true colours even though they tried to choose the right words.
— Mukhtar (@Mukhtar_iam) March 10, 2022

I don’t hate Prince William. I don’t hate anyone. I hate racism, & if anyone with a shred of decency at the palace had listened to the THOUSANDS of black & brown people telling them that not defending Meghan Markle was a bad idea, #princewilliamisaracist wouldn’t be trending.
— Anne Boleyn (Sussex Supporter) (@TudorChick1501) March 10, 2022

Others came to Prince William’s defense, noting that he said “for our generation” as he is only 39 and hasn’t seen a war of this scale in Europe.

Spare me the quasi-intellectual hand-wringing about Prince William. He said, off the cuff, "for our generation [he's 39] it's alien to see this in Europe. We’re all right behind you. We’re thinking about you." Struggling to imagine a more innocuous comment.
— Olivia Utley (@OliviaUtley) March 10, 2022

https://twitter.com/Nevin_Thompson/status/1501969330283565057

https://twitter.com/Canellelabelle/status/1501952778654134279

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This isn’t the first time Prince William has come under fire for making remarks deemed racist. In November 2021, the Duke came under fire for doubling down on similar comments he made in 2017 in which he blamed the endangerment of Africa’s wildlife on its “rapidly growing human population,” Aljazeera reported.

Prince William was quoted as saying, the Motherland’s “wildlife and wild spaces as a result of human population” was presenting a “huge challenge for conservationists, as it does the world over.”

PHOTO: Britain’s Prince William attends a reception of the Joint Ministerial Council at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, Nov. 17, 2021. (Yui Mok/Pool Photo via AP)