Prince William Drawn Into EU Controversy

Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent

Prince William has been drawn into political controversy after claims that a speech he made at the Foreign Office included a coded call for Britain to remain in the EU.

Pro-EU campaigners were delighted by his remarks, made at an awards ceremony, while his comments were dismissed by groups campaigning for Britain to leave the EU.

But the Prince's officials at Kensington Palace swiftly attempted to defuse the row, insisting his speech was nothing to do with the debate over the EU and he never even mentioned Europe.

The "Did he? Didn't he?" debate was fuelled by the fact that the Prince was speaking alongside the Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, who is likely to have known about the contents of the Prince's speech in advance.

In the speech, the Duke of Cambridge said: "In an increasingly turbulent world, our ability to unite in common action with other nations is essential. It is the bedrock of our security and prosperity and is central to your work."

And then he said: "Right now, the big questions with which you wrestle - in the UN, NATO, the Middle East and elsewhere - are predicated on your commitment to working in partnership with others."

Although he mentioned the United Nations and NATO but not the EU, the speech was immediately reported in some quarters as a plea to voters, two days ahead of the crucial EU summit in Brussels on Britain's re-negotiation bid, to vote Remain in the referendum expected on 23 June.

Comparisons were also drawn with the Queen's comments shortly before the September 2014 referendum on Scottish independence when she urged Scots to think carefully before casting their vote.

Pro-EU campaigners were quick to welcome his comments. The Britain Stronger In Europe campaign said his remarks showed that "people from all walks of life are getting behind the campaign for Britain to stay" in the EU.

However a Kensington Palace spokesman insisted the Duke of Cambridge had not expressed a political view.

"This speech is not about Europe," the spokesman said.

"He does not mention the word Europe once."

A Royal source added: "Talking about 'working in partnership' and 'our ability to unite in common action' is not expressing a political view.

"He did not mention the EU once and any suggestion that he was referring to Britain's EU membership is completely unfounded."

And Liz Bilney of Leave.EU said: "His Royal Highness' talk to diplomats about maintaining partnerships as crucial to our country's interests is of course right.

"But it is taking a leap to suggest that this means we have to stay inside a failing institution like the European Union that does not always represent our interests or our views.

"Commentators with a keen eye might have noticed that he listed organisations he presumably felt valuable, such as NATO and the United Nations, but did not explicitly state the European Union.

"I could just as easily claim that this commission signalled Prince William believes we should not give any importance to the EU, but I would not wish to be so presumptuous."

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