Queen ‘irritated’ by lack of action on climate crisis

The Queen has appeared to suggest she is irritated by a lack of action in tackling the climate crisis.

Her remarks emerged in clips of a conversation filmed on a phone camera during a trip to Cardiff for the opening of the Welsh Senedd.

Two video clips, parts of which are inaudible, show the Queen chatting with the Duchess of Cornwall and Elin Jones, the parliament’s presiding officer.

At one point she appears to be talking about the Cop26 climate conference, and can be heard saying she does not know who is coming to the event which will begin in Glasgow at the end of this month.

In the clip, she said: “I’ve been hearing all about Cop…I still don’t know who’s coming.”

Ceremonial opening of the Sixth Senedd
The Queen leaves after attending the opening ceremony of the sixth session of the Senedd in Cardiff (Jacob King/PA)

In a separate clip, the Queen appears to say it is “irritating” when “they talk, but they don’t do”.

Ms Jones then appears to reference the Duke of Cambridge in her replying, saying she had been watching him “on television this morning saying there’s no point going into space, we need to save the earth”.

William had earlier warned the Cop26 summit against “clever speak, clever words but not enough action”.

He said: “I think for Cop to communicate very clearly and very honestly what the problems are and what the solutions are going to be, is critical.

“We can’t have more clever speak, clever words but not enough action.”

Royal visit to Kew
The Duke Cambridge with children from The Heathlands School during a visit on Wednesday to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in south London, to take part in a Generation Earthshot event (Ian Vogler/Daily Mirror/PA)

William has criticised the space race, saying the world’s greatest minds need to focus on trying to fix their own planet instead.

His comments, in an interview with BBC Newscast on BBC Sounds, were aired the day after Star Trek’s William Shatner made history by becoming the oldest person in space.

The 90-year-old actor, known for his role as Captain James T Kirk, lifted off from the Texas desert on Wednesday in a rocket built by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s space travel company Blue Origin.

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