The mayor of Rio de Janeiro has made a blunt, five-word comment regarding the latest royal drama involving Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, just minutes after welcoming Prince William to Brazil. The Prince of Wales was welcomed to Rio de Janeiro with an honour reserved for the carnival king – the keys to the city.
William stood on top of Sugarloaf Mountain with a bird’s eye view of the metropolis and the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue after being greeted by the Mayor of Rio, Eduardo Paes. The future king had taken the cable car up to the vantage point popular with tourists at the start of a five-day visit to Brazil to stage his Earthshot Prize and attend the COP 30 UN climate change summit.
The ceremonial keys to Rio are traditionally handed to King Momo – carnival king – by the mayor to officially launch the Rio carnival festivities.
Mr Paes is co-hosting the C40 World Mayors Summit with his London counterpart, Sir Sadiq Khan, an event showcasing how cities are tackling the climate crisis, being held ahead of COP30, which is being staged by Brazil in the Amazonian city of Belem.
Following William’s first engagement, Mr Paes was asked about the prince and said he was “very nice,” while also revealing that the two of them had discussed various topics on top of Sugarloaf Mountain.
He said: “He seemed to be very interested in lots of things. We spoke about politics, the landscape of Rio, he asked about the favelas. The thing about the forest jumping into the city. we are having a meeting here, uh, with a bunch of mayors, so Sadiq Khan [the London Mayor] is here, so we spoke a little bit about the role of mayors. We spoke a lot.”
But he was also asked about the latest drama in the Royal Family regarding Andrew, who was recently stripped of his titles and honours due to his links to convicted paedophile, Jeffrey Epstein.
Rio’s mayor was asked whether he was hoping Andrew’s scandal would not overshadow William’s visit to Brazil.
And he only gave a blunt, five-word remark, saying: “Well, we all have problems.”
Elsewhere, he said it was hugely “symbolic” to have William in Brazil, adding: “It’s very symbolic. It shows, first, the connection between Great Britain and Brazil, which is a long-standing relationship.
“And, I mean, it’s like people like him here, so we were very glad to have him.”