On Wednesday, King Charles and the Prince and Princess of Wales made statements on Israel and the Hamas terrorist attacks which have left thousands of Israelis and Palestinians dead. The amount of statement-making and noise from celebrities, edgelord commentators and deeply problematic people has been a lot this week. I would not blame anyone if they simply avoided making public statements entirely. But many people feel it’s necessary to say something. At least the Duke and Duchess of Sussex kept it very brief. They posted this message on their Archewell site, titled “With Heavy Hearts.”

At The Archewell Foundation, with Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, we stand against all acts of terrorism and brutality. We are supporting our partners and organizations on the frontlines in Israel to provide the urgent aid needed, and to help all innocent victims of this unconscionable level of human suffering.

[From Archewell]

Yeah, that’s fine – please don’t get into the politics, just focus on the humanitarian disaster. I’m interested in the timing of the Sussexes’ statement, which came chronologically hours after Charles, William and Kate’s statements. While the Sussexes obviously do not coordinate with the Windsors, they followed the kind of protocol which the palace would have approved of. This wasn’t what happened when Russia invaded Ukraine last year. The Sussexes made a statement on the day of the invasion… while William and Kate were tweeting about their upcoming Caribbean tour. The Sussexes were called “breathtakingly arrogant” for their statement last year.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.