英國王子以身作則 投身抗洪救災
英國《每日郵報》網站報道，2月14日，威廉和哈里王子前往洪水危機前線，投身抗洪救災工作。在此之前，女王曾明確批評政府對洪災的反應。
當天早上6點，身穿軍裝的哈里和身穿“平民”裝的威廉悄悄加入皇家騎兵團，在達切特和士兵一起壘砌沙包牆，幫助加固距女王居所溫莎城堡僅一箭之遙的防護設施。他們幫忙從軍用卡車上卸下沙包，再裝到貨運車上，將它們運送到最需要的地區。
據消息人士稱，多日以來，威廉和哈里一直想爲抗洪救災做些事情，但是因爲擔心分散對王室所面臨洪水危機的注意力，他們不願意宣傳自己的出現。一位皇室助手說，“他們不想宣傳這件事。12日晚上才決定這麼做。他們非常願意幫忙做些救援工作，並且認爲加入軍隊應該是最好的方式。”
但是不久，他們到來的消息就泄露出去。據該行政區職員格雷厄姆·利弗說，“他們非常投入，希望知道事情的進展情況。他們一直在達切特，我認爲反響很好。他們非常自然。說實話，從他們的穿着來看，他們走在人羣中，沒有人會認出他們。他們特別喜歡和士兵交談。我們從軍隊得到了絕好的支持，如果他們不來達切特，我們區已經被淹沒了。”
其實，他們並非首次在災難地區工作，提供緊急救援——威廉曾經是救援直升機飛機員；哈里也曾兩次赴阿富汗服役。
在此次危機期間，威廉和哈里的祖母女王也向洪水災民伸出了援助之手，向受洪水影響的薩默塞特農民提供來自溫莎皇家農場的飼料和草墊。
因爲沒有疏浚脆弱的河流而使災難加劇，英國環保署屢遭指責。事實上，女王公開做出的努力正是責備政府沒有更好地應對極端天氣造成的廣泛破壞。
Princes William and Harry today joined the flood relief effort by helping soldiers to lay sandbags in Datchet.
The brothers secretly joined members of Harry's Household Cavalry regiment to shore up the defences just a stone's throw from the Queen's residence, Windsor Castle.
Their trip to the front line of the crisis is reportedly the second intervention into the flooding crisis by the Royal Family, after the monarch apparently criticised the Government's response to the disaster.
According to sources, William and Harry had been keen to play a part for some days but did not want to publicise their presence for fear of distracting from the crisis facing householders.
They joined military personnel at 6am this morning and had hoped to stay working all day. But by mid morning, word of their presence had already slipped out.
Harry was wearing his army fatigues while William was in 'civilian' dress.
A royal aide said: 'This is not something they wanted publicised and it was only decided on Wednesday night.
'They were very keen to help with the flood relief effort and thought that joining the military would be the best way.'
A Buckingham Palace spokesman told MailOnline: ‘They joined the Household Cavalry this morning from 6am and they have been helping to build walls of sandbags.’
William and Harry later left the office of Datchet Parish Council and got into a car alongside military personnel to continue the relief effort.
Parish clerk Graham Leaver said: 'They were very involved and wanting to know what was going on. They have been in Datchet and the area and I think it's gone down very well. That is my assessment.
'They were very natural. To be honest, they could have walked in among people here and nobody would have recognised them looking at the way they were dressed.
'They were particularly interested in talking to the troops. The support we have received from the Army has been absolutely excellent and if they hadn't come into Datchet we as a parish would have been overwhelmed.'
While the floodwaters have receded since their peak earlier this week, 2in of rain was set to fall today with more tomorrow, raising the possibility of homes and businesses facing fresh horror over the weekend.
The princes helped by unloading sandbags from military trucks onto freight trains which would then take them to areas where they are most needed.
They are no strangers to working in disaster zones and providing emergency relief - William has worked as a rescue helicopter pilot, while Harry has served two tours of duty in Afghanistan.
The Queen, William and Harry's grandmother, has also been lending a hand to flood victims by providing farmers with a way to look after their livestock during the crisis.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: 'The Queen is supporting Somerset farmers affected by the flooding on the Somerset Levels by contributing feed and bedding from the royal farms at Windsor.'
The public statement came as Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg denied a report that the Queen criticised the Government response to the floods in a private meeting with him in his role as president of the Privy Council.
Asked on LBC radio whether it was true that the Queen had 'waded in' over flooding, Mr Clegg replied: 'No.' He declined to discuss the content of their conversations any further.
But the fact that her efforts have been made public will be seen as a coded rebuke to the Government's reaction to the widespread devastation caused by the extreme weather.
Meanwhile, Lord Smith - a former Labour minister who has been heavily criticised for his response to the floods crisis - was far away from affected areas as he was seen outside his home in Islington.
The grandee has faced repeated calls for his resignation over accusations the Environment Agency exacerbated the scale of the disaster by failing to dredge vulnerable rivers.
