Prince William broke from Royal tradition, meddling in politics, by writing a letter to the girlfriend of U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who died from a stroke a day after the January 6 riots.
Prince William’s letter offered his condolences and praised Sicknick for “upholding democracy.”
The Prince’s letter reads: “Please forgive me if I am intruding, but I wanted to write and let you know how sorry I am about the death of your partner, Brian.” Prince William went on to note that he had watched the events unfold on January 6 and wanted to pay tribute to Sicknick’s “patriotism and selflessness.”
“By all accounts Brian performed valiantly while on duty and, despite suffering injuries, continued to do his utmost to protect those inside. I hope you can take some comfort from knowing that it is thanks to law enforcement officers like Brian that the situation did not escalate further and democracy was upheld,” he added.
Opinions are split on Prince William’s choice to weigh in on the events of January 6. Many have praised him, but others have noted it is not proper for the Royal Family member to speak on foreign governmental affairs.
The events surrounding Sicknick’s death have caused fierce debate among leaders in Washington. The Democrats have blamed rioters for his death, claiming that Sicknick died because he was hit over the head with a fire extinguisher.
However, last year a medical examiner ruled that he died of natural causes, a result of two massive strokes. No one was ever able to prove that the strokes resulted from any direct trauma from the events of January 6.
In a statement that blatantly ignored the cause of death being outside of his duties, the U.S. Capitol Police said it accepts the medical examiner’s finding.
“This does not change the fact Officer Sicknick died in the line of duty, courageously defending Congress and the Capitol,” the statement said.
The U.S. Capitol Police have continued to push the false narrative that Sicknick’s death was a direct result of encounters on January 6.
Capitol Police said in a statement on the day of his death, “He returned to his division office and collapsed. He was taken to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.”
However, there were no injuries, but the U.S. Capitol Police has never issued a retraction, and the officer’s death has become a talking point among those involved in the January 6 Special House Committee investigations.
Sicknick’s family said they were convinced the strokes were caused by the officer being pepper-sprayed by rioters the day prior. Although these claims were also not substantiated by the medical examiner.