Queen Elizabeth caught expressing irritation with world leaders who talk but 'don't do' on climate change

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II is preparing to host some number of world leaders at the 26th United Nations climate change conference (COP26) in Glasgow in a couple of weeks, but, she was overheard telling Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, on Thursday, they "still don't know who is coming." The stakes are very high but the expectations are fairly low for the climate summit. And the 95-year-old queen appears irritated with a certain type of world leader.

"We only know about people who are not coming," Queen Elizabeth was heard saying. "It's really irritating when they talk, but they don't do." President Biden, for what it's worth, has RSVP'd for himself and 13 high-ranking administration officials. London's The Sun tabloid had a little fun with the queen's comments on the environment, and the video, filmed on a friend's phone as the queen helped reopen the Welsh parliament, or Senedd Cymru.

The Welsh government also posted a clip of Queen Elizabeth speaking with Senedd presiding officer Elin Jones. In it, Jones agrees with the queen that "it is a time for doing — and watching your grandson (Prince William) on TV this morning saying there's no point going to space, we need to save the Earth." The queen beamed and replied, "Yes, I read that."

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Climate activist Greta Thunberg, 18, doesn't expect much from world leaders, either, she told Reuters earlier this week.

"What I would consider to be a success would be honesty, that we highlight the gap between what we are saying and what we are actually doing," Thunberg said. "Maybe leaders being honest will create a sense of urgency that will make people wake up. We don't know what will lead to the change. All that we can do is to try to raise awareness and create that sense of urgency that we so drastically need right now.."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.