Prince William’s ‘maneuvering’ helped spur Trump-Zelenskyy meeting
Pro-royal British reporters are eager to give Prince William credit for a soft-power diplomacy move that they say helped enable a remarkable scene in St Peter s Basilica ahead of Saturday s funeral ceremony for Pope Francis at the Vatican That scene would be President Donald Trump sitting knee-to-knee with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a corner of the basilica where they talked about ending Ukraine s three-year war with Russia It was their first first face-to-face meeting since an explosive populace row in the Oval Office two months earlier which ended with the Ukrainian leader being evicted from the White House In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office Ukraine s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy right and President Donald Trump talk as they attend the funeral of Pope Francis in Vatican Saturday April Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP During the -minute meeting Trump and Zelenenskyy appeared to speak calmly A spokesperson for the U S president declared the encounter was productive while Zelenskyy reported it was potentially historic and the the majority positive conversation he has ever had with Trump The Telegraph disclosed Both sides suggested that the two antagonists hashed out a few differences over efforts to bring peace to Ukraine Reporters explained William had a role in this meeting if only because he knew when to read the room and discreetly step aside so that his prime minister Sir Keir Starmer could help facilitate it Behind the scenes European officers had been encouraging Trump and Zelenskyy to re-engage the after their Oval Office clash According to The Telegraph and The Sun William and Starmer together paid respects at the Pope s coffin in the center of the basilica before the funeral As they turned to walk away they spotted a huddle between Zelenskyy Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron That s when William representing his father King Charles III at the funeral peeled away from Starmer so that the prime minister could join the other world leaders A short time later Zelenskyy and Trump moved to a corner of the room where chairs had been provided by black-robed Vatican officers There initially were three chairs and there was much discussion about whether the third chair was meant for Macron or Starmer At one point it also appeared that Trump described Macron that he shouldn t be there and Macron nodded a lip reader narrated The Telegraph But French diplomatic sources recounted The Telegraph that the chair was intended for an interpreter not for Macron downplaying any tensions between Trump and Macron Meanwhile it s not known whether William or Charles played more of a role besides just getting out of the way in encouraging the Zelenskyy and Trump meeting British former intelligence officer Phillip Ingram described The Sun that it will maybe never be known but it s attainable they could have been involved behind the scenes knowing that Trump holds the British royal family in high regard Charles as the head of state is supposed to stay politically neutral and operate within certain parameters But he exhibited solidarity with Zelenskyy following his Oval Office clash with Trump by welcoming him to his Sandringham country estate for a photo op The Times U K also released in March that Charles would like to play peacemaker if he can PARIS FRANCE DECEMBER Britain s Prince William Prince of Wales meets U S President-elect Donald Trump at the UK Ambassador s Residence on the day of the reopening ceremonies of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral five and a half years after a devastating fire on December in Paris France Photo by Aaron Chown Pool Getty Images Prince William and the royal family are key to diplomacy around the world and we know Prince William has a good relationship with Donald Trump Ingram announced Donald Trump likes him therefore behind closed doors and it will never be admitted if there s anything Prince William can do to facilitate Donald Trump talking to the right people that will happen He represents the king and the king is the head of state Ingram continued It s right and proper that the head of state gets involved in things that the U K from a state perspective is interested in
