Royal Family Hypocrisy and the 18th Theorem of Government

May 28, 2024 by Dan Mitchell @ International Liberty

The United Kingdom has some terrible politicians (see here, here, here, here, and here).

It also has some embarrassing members of the royal family. Way back in 2010, for instance, I wrote about how then-Prince Charles had an unfortunate habit of lecturing others about carbon footprints even though he surely must be responsible for more emissions that 99 percent of the population.

But you don’t need royal blood to be a hypocrite. In previous columns, I’ve written about celebrities (domestic and foreign) and politicians (domestic and foreign) who hector ordinary people, yet live lavish carbon-emitting lifestyles.

Not to mention the hypocritical jet setters who go to Davos.

With all these people in mind, it’s time to unveil my 18th Theorem of Government.

I realize I just released my 17th Theorem of Government yesterday, but I couldn’t resist back-to-back Theorems because a reader sent me a story about another vapid member of the British royal family.

Here are some excerpts from a report by Craig Simpson in the U.K.-based Telegraph.

The Duchess of York berated the crowd at the Cannes Film Festival as she told them to care less about parties and more about the climate. The Duchess attended the elite party held on the Riviera, appearing on stage to auction off a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. Footage shows the Duchess scolding the gathered crowd for not staying quiet during her address and berating them about climate change. …Celebrity guests in the audience included Heidi Klum, Kelly Rowland, Demi Moore and Cher… Struggling to be heard over the chattering crowd at a lavish villa in Cap d’Antibes near Cannes, she told the crowd…”What is the future and why are we not making our planet better for the youth of tomorrow? …I am so sorry that we have completely destroyed your planet.”

For what it’s worth, our left-leaning friends are also hypocrites about education and taxation.

P.S. There are plenty of right-leaning hypocrites, but I’m not overly upset when they proclaim traditional morality and then cheat on their spouses. That’s bad behavior, but it doesn’t affect me. I do get upset when they campaign in favor of small government and then vote for bigger government once they get elected.