Why feminist campaigners are accusing Prince William and David Beckham of being ‘openly sexist’ for sending messages of support to England ahead of the World Cup final

Prince William and David Beckham are in the crosshairs of a feminist activist group accusing them of using their daughters as shields in messages of support for the Lionesses ahead of their World Cup final on Sunday.

Both the Prince of Wales and Beckham posted videos with their respective daughters Charlotte and Harper ahead of the final against Spain, which England lost on Sunday.

Both apologized for not being able to attend the game, but wished the Lionesses well.

However, the online group MFW has criticized the duo for not including their sons in the videos in a move they called “overtly sexist,” saying the videos amounted to “micro-aggression.”

MFW says they are “fed up with the bias and lack of truth in most of our mainstream media” and are committed to “fostering positive change” by using corporate consumer boycotts to enforce the removal of content it believes spread hate speech to them.

Now they have set their sights on the heir apparent and English football legend, who owns American Major League side Inter Miami.

David Beckham sent a video message in support of the Lionesses along with his daughter Harper at their Inter Miami offices in the United States

“Both Prince William and David Beckham sending videos of themselves and their daughters to the @Lionesses for their #WorldCup2023 match last night was openly sexist,” the Twitter post reads.

“Because they both had only their daughters and none of their sons.

‘Because it is still considered undesirable and even annoying that boys have female role models or encourage a women’s team.

‘If you don’t believe this, imagine the England men’s football team in a final: there’s no way those men would include only sons in a video message and not include their daughters.

“Because daughters are expected to encourage men AND women, while sons are not. Many people will consider this problem to be minor, but it is not. It is called a micro-aggression, which women and people in oppressed groups experience every day of their lives.

Prince William and Princess Catherine are pictured with their children (left to right) Prince George, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte

Pictured from left to right: Harper, Romeo, David, Cruz and Victoria Beckham

The lionesses pose for their team photo ahead of the World Cup final against Spain. No members of the royal family or the Beckham family were present

“Micro-aggressions are small acts of sexism, racism, homo/transphobia and competence that, over time, erode the confidence and self-confidence of people in those groups.

“It’s a huge slap in the face to the women on the team and ALL women, and proves just how far we have to go to elevate the status of women’s sport and all the efforts of women everywhere.”

The post goes on to berate Prince William and Beckham for not attending the final and for urging women to ‘go out and enjoy’ what MFW deems a ‘patronizing, demeaning remark that should never be made to a male team would be said’.

“None of this is innocent and none is fair. Do better, guys, because this is still total bullshit. And in 2023 it shouldn’t be damn good,” the post concludes.

England’s Lauren James and Chloe Kelly comfort each other after their 1-0 defeat to Spain in the Women’s World Cup final in Sydney

Although the Royal Family did not send a representative to support England, Queen Letizia of Spain was present and happily mingled with the players and their supporters

The post divided readers, with many supporting the message and agreeing that Prince William and Beckham could have done more.

Pure symbolism! He only gives a message to the women’s team because he’s not there and he happens to have a girl to parade with,” one of them replied.

“Totally ‘girls as a shield’ moments,” another posted.

‘Totally agree. A bit of humor for the ladies, so we mean it by having a little girl in the video too. Really pathetic. Made worse because they are on ‘holiday’. What nonsense,’ said another.

Others said they did not think either side had intended to use their daughter as an explanation when expressing their support.

“I doubt they think ‘let’s just use our daughters because we hate women’. It’s much more likely that they (stupidly) thought it would bring some goodwill. I agree it would be absolutely hurtful to women. I just don’t think it’s targeted,” one follower replied.

Another pointed out that Beckham had only appeared at the men’s World Cup in Qatar because the organizers paid him $277 million to be there.

“Look, if the Australian World Cup organizers had paid David Beckham what Qatar did, he would have been there,” one follower wrote.

Beckham also posted a montage of images of the Lioness players when they were juniors with another message of support.

“These young footballers never stopped believing and grew up to be our incredible lionesses… and now they will play in a game that dreams are made of. Good luck to the @lionesses ahead of the World Cup final – come what may, the whole country is so proud of all you’ve accomplished to reach this historic moment.

“Keep believing, play with the amazing passion and team spirit you show every time you step onto the pitch.”

This post was warmly received by his 82 million followers.

“I love this…always admire those strong inspiring men who step forward and show support for women and women in sports. Real example of a real man,” replied one follower.

“I absolutely love this, as a girl who grew up in the 1970s and wanted to play football, but it wasn’t the custom then,” added another.

Prince William and his daughter Charlotte also received a flood of positive messages for their post.

What an incredibly nice and sweet message of support! So great to see Princess Charlotte,” one follower posted.

However, he was also widely criticized for not attending the final.