Why Prince William Was Heckled By Angry Protesters in South Africa
“Go home, you’re not welcome.”
Prince William has been meeting plenty of fans in Cape Town, South Africa (including supermodels Heidi Klum and Winnie Harlow) as he promotes his annual Earthshot Prize this week, but along with the well-wishers, he’s also encountered some hecklers.
In a video shared by Sky News on Nov. 7, a woman angrily shouted, “William, go home! You have no sovereignty here, you are not our King. Get out of here!”
Others screamed “go home, you’re not welcome,” per Hello!, and some held signs reading “William, you have no sovereignity [sic] in this country” (for the record, “sovereignty” doesn’t have an “i,” but that’s neither here nor there).
Per Sky News, one local fisherwoman explained that the small group of protestors were expressing their disappointment about being left out of an event the Prince of Wales held on Thursday, Nov. 7. William met with Earthshot Prize finalist Abalobi, which creates sustainable solutions for the fishing industry, and the group of hecklers reportedly felt snubbed.
While most of the crowd was excited to see William, some held anti-monarchy signs.
The protestors were upset that they weren’t included in an event at the harbor.
Mymoena Poggenpoel, who owns a family fishing operation, told Sky News that “they weren’t protesting against the prince but felt excluded from the event.”
“It wasn’t inclusive, that’s our concern,” she said, adding, “These boats are all maintained by individual fishermen. So because they wouldn’t include us it’s very concerning, you know that we couldn’t welcome the prince the way we wanted to in our traditional manner.”
Another fisherman agreed that the protestors were “not angry with” Prince William, but about being excluded from an event at their local harbor. Per Hello! he said, “William has not come to look at our fish. No one told us the prince was coming. Abalobi don’t support us. This is our harbor.”
One fan wore a Prince William mask and Union Jack jacket.
However, plenty of others in the crowd supported the Prince of Wales, with some even wearing William, Kate and Camilla masks and draping themselves in Union Jack-themed accessories.
One woman, Carol Byss, told Hello!, "We love the whole royal family, we're so proud he's here. There's a time and a place, we’re so blessed to have him. To cause a scene like this is a shock."
The Cape Town resident, who said she was "thrilled" to welcome William to South Africa, added, "He's got enough to worry about, we think."
On that note, Prince William gave a reassuring update about wife Princess Kate's cancer journey this week. On Nov. 6, he told reporters (via People) that the mom of three was "doing really well," adding, the Princess of Wales has "been amazing this whole year."