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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle offered their ‘thoughts and prayers’ to those affected by the Australian wildfires today moments after the Queen relayed a message of deep sadness to the country’s Governor General and ‘to all Australians’.
An Instagram post on their official account on Saturday said: ‘Our thoughts and prayers are with those across Australia who are continuing to face the devastating fires that have been raging for months.’
The royal couple went on to express their concern for the environment, saying that they are ‘struck by the increasingly overlapping presence of these environmental disasters’ in what they say is being ‘described as ecocide’.
An Instagram post from Harry and Meghan reads ‘Our thoughts and prayers are with those across Australia who are continuing to face the devastating fires that have been raging for months’
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend a Creative Industries and Business Reception on October 02, 2019 in Johannesburg, South Africa
The caption is accompanied by a picture of a Koala bear gripping on to the arm and shoulder of an Australian volunteer fire service officer.
In a similar message earlier on Saturday, Her Majesty wrote to Governor General, David Hurley, expressing her concern for the bushfires tearing their way through Australia.
‘I have been deeply saddened to hear of the continued bushfires and their devastating impact across many parts of Australia,’ she wrote in a letter published on the Royal Family’s Twitter account.
Queen Elizabeth II attends the Christmas Day Church service at Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate on December 25, 2019 in King’s Lynn
‘My thanks go out to the emergency services, and those who put their own lives in danger to help communities in need.
‘Prince Philip and I send our thoughts and prayers to all Australians at this difficult time.’
The message was also addressed to the Governor of New South Wales, the Governor of Queensland, and the Governor of Victoria.
The address comes as the timescale of the unprecedented inferno extended to two months of terror today.
Pictured is the letter sent by the Queen to the people of Australia, released today through the Royal Family’s Twitter account
A kangaroo rushes past a burning house in Lake Conjola, Australia, on Tuesday, December 31 2019
The letter, sent today, was addressed to Australia’s Governor General, David Hurley (pictured in July 2019), the Governor of Queensland and the Governor of Victoria
A bushfire can be seen blazing through trees in the town of Moruya, south of Bateman’s Bay in New South Wales today
The raging bushfires, which have consumed hundreds of homes and killed 500 million animals so far, are likely to burn until at least March, experts have warned.
Top fire officials issued the stark alert as the military scrambled last night to save families trapped between flames.
‘Based on the best estimate we would say [the fires will burn] for at least another eight weeks,’ East Gippsland CFA incident controller Andy Gillham told reporters on Saturday.
‘We are only at the beginning of summer. In a normal year we would start to see the fire season kick off in a big way around early January, but we’re already up there at more than a million hectares of burnt country.
‘We are in it for the long haul, this is a marathon event, we expect to busy for at least the next eight weeks.’
A kangaroo suffering huge burns to its body shaking hands with a teenager after being given water on the NSW south coast yesterday
Devastation: An entire home and car in North Rosedale seen completely flattened by the wild south coast fires, with only a letterbox still standing after the inferno
NSW Health have warned people to remain cautious about air pollution, with the Sydney basin likely to endure smoke haze today.
The elderly and those with lung and heart conditions have been advised to remain indoors and avoid exercise.
The early and devastating start to Australia’s summer wildfires has made this season the worst on record. About five million hectares (12.35 million acres) of land have burned, at least 19 people have been killed, and more than 1,400 homes have been destroyed.
This week, at least 448 homes have been destroyed on the New South Wales southern coast and dozens were burned in Victoria.
Ten deaths have been confirmed in the two states this week, and Victoria authorities also say 28 people are missing.
Fires are also burning in Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania.
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