The Queen just accidentally let slip her opinions on climate change and they're not what you'd expect

She was caught on camera calling world leaders ‘irritating’ and saying they ‘talk, but won’t do’

The Queen on climate change
(Image credit: Getty Images)

She was caught on camera calling world leaders ‘irritating’ and saying they ‘talk, but won’t do’

Yesterday, The Queen was recorded sharing her thoughts on climate change for the first time.

In the unauthorised clip, her majesty appeared to share a sense of annoyance about the slow pace of global climate action.

In an extremely rare and candid show of irritation, the monarch shares that she finds it "irritating" when world leaders "talk, but don't do".

The Royal Family are traditionally very reserved, only sharing opinions in official statements or speeches.

The 95-year-old further said: "I’ve been hearing all about COP… but I still don’t know who’s coming."

The Queen was making a public appearance in Cardiff to mark the opening of the Welsh parliament, Senedd. Her comments were recorded by a passerby on their phone camera.

Not all of the video is audible - there are parts that are muffled - but what is clear is that the Queen is chatting to Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, and Elin Jones, the parliament’s presiding officer.

A photo posted by on

Elin can be heard saying, "on television this morning saying there’s no point going into space, we need to save the earth," which many have assumed is in reference to Prince William's space race snub (he said the world's greatest minds should be focusing on fixing our planet, not finding others).

The Queen has been vocal in her support of COP26, last month saying it's an opportunity to "create a better, healthier future for us all," but she has never been critical about lack of action previously.

William has been working to encourage world leaders to move more quickly for months now with his Earthshot prize campaign, warning those attending COP26 against "clever speak, clever words but not enough action."

A photo posted by on

He's 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."

The Royal Family appears to be uniting to stand against climate change - over the past few months alone, The Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William have all made urgent calls to action encouraging world leaders to act - and fast.

Two months ago, Prince Charles said that the world has "been in the last chance saloon for too long already" and that urgent changes must be made or else "the world as we know it is done for."

Senior Health and Sustainability Editor

Ally Head is Marie Claire UK's Senior Health and Sustainability Editor, nine-time marathoner, and Boston Qualifying runner. Day-to-day, she heads up all strategy for her pillars, working across commissioning, features, and e-commerce, reporting on the latest health updates, writing the must-read wellness content, and rounding up the genuinely sustainable and squat-proof gym leggings worth *adding to basket*. She's won a BSME for her sustainability work, regularly hosts panels and presents for events like the Sustainability Awards, and is a stickler for a strong stat, too, seeing over nine million total impressions on the January 2023 Wellness Issue she oversaw. Follow Ally on Instagram for more or get in touch.