Prince Harry is slammed for ‘virtue-signaling’ UN speech with comments on US constitutional rights

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been slammed for ‘virtue-signaling’ as he waded US politics during his speech at the UN General Assembly.

DailyMail.com columnist Meghan McCain blasted the Duke of Sussex for ‘not offering any solutions’ to the issues in America.

The Duke of Sussex launched a thinly-veiled attack on the Supreme Court’s Roe v Wade ruling last month that handed abortion rights back to individual states.

The 37-year-old claimed it was part of a ‘global assault on democracy and freedom’ as he also cited Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine among problems facing the world.

The comments, heard by a mostly-empty room at the United Nations for Nelson Mandela Day on Monday morning, were the latest broadside at US politicians.

It comes after his wife Meghan told how the Duke had a ‘gutteral’ reaction to the Supreme Court’s bombshell overturning of Roe v Wade last month.

Protesters also stood outside of the UN General Assembly in New York, with one holding up a sign which said ‘why are they here’.

TV personality Meghan McCain said: ‘Today was a missed opportunity to keep the focus on one of the truly great global leaders of all time, Nelson Mandela.

The Duke of Sussex made a thinly veiled slight on the US constitution during his speech at the UN on Monday, and has been slammed by American politicians

Protestors outside of the event in New York could be seen holding signs which demanded to know why the royal couple had attended the event 

US Rep Buddy Carter  said he thought that the Duke of Sussex, pictured leaving the UN with his wife, comparing American abortion laws to the Ukraine war was ‘sick and perverse’

Meghan later stepped out with activist Gloria Steinem after the pair had lunch together at the Crosby Hotel in Soho

‘The speech should have been entirely a tribute to this man. But Prince Harry can’t help himself. He has to get in his virtue-signaling.

‘He wants you to know that he thinks America is a mess and he is judging it from his lectern.

‘He’s not offering solutions of any kind, mind you, just making a speech and getting back on his private jet to return to his mansion in California.’

Meghan and Harry arrived hand in hand ahead of his speech to delegates on climate change and poverty during the two hour meeting at the UN.

It marks the first time the couple have been seen in public since jetting to the UK to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee last month, where they kept a low profile.

Despite the event meant to be in celebration of Nelson Mandela Day, the Prince launched an attack on American politics during his keynote speech.

He said: ‘This has been a painful year in a painful decade. We are living through a pandemic that continues to ravage communities in every corner of the globe.

‘Climate change wreaking havoc on our planet with most vulnerable suffering most of all. The few weaponizing lies and disinformation at the expense of the many.

‘And from the horrific war in Ukraine to the rolling back of constitutional right in the US we are witnessing a global assault on democracy and freedom the cause of Mandela’s life.’

Royal biographer Robert Jobson also hit out at Harry, saying that he ‘knew it would cause controversy’ when giving his speech. 

He said: ‘I, like all right thinking people, believe in free speech. It is the core of democracy.

‘Now that Prince Harry he had given up his royal role has the same right to speak out as the next man.

The couple have been slammed by Meghan McCain who said the father-of-two couldn’t help his ‘virtue signaling’ during his speech 

Prince Harry has been accused of knowing that his comments would cause ‘controversy’, despite agreeing to honor the Queen’s stance of staying away from anything political when they stepped down

The couple were all smiles as they attended the event, but have now been slammed for some of the comments made

It is not the first time the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have waded into American politics, finding themselves in hot water after commenting on the US election

‘So in that respect I commend him for a well thought out keynote address.

‘That said, when the Queen gave her blessing to him to quit as a front line working royal and live with his wife in the US he promised not to bring the Royal Family into disrepute.

‘He knows that his grandmother, our monarch, must remain above politics.

‘He knows too when his father, The Prince of Wales, and brother, William, Duke of Cambridge make public addresses that they must remain non partisan, thus avoiding embarrassing the Queen and the institution of monarchy.

‘Harry chose to speak about political issues at the UN. He knew it would cause controversy. He knew it would lead to criticism.

‘It is his right now as a private citizen to make speeches – good luck to him.

‘But had he not been a famous prince, from the privileged House of Windsor I mount very much he would not have been asked to make such an address.’

Republican politicians were also quick to condemn the comments made by the Duke of Sussex during his keynote speech.

US Rep Buddy Carter said: ‘The U.S. is protecting the lives of unborn children. Russia is killing innocent Ukrainians.

‘We are not the same and comparing the two is sick and perverse. I would remind Prince Harry that spreading disinformation is incredibly damaging to the ‘democracy and freedom’ he is so concerned about.’

Both the Duke and Duchess of Sussex ignored questions about the impact of Tom Bower’s book Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the war between the Windsor’s

Members of the UN watched on as the Duke of Sussex gave his speech, with some taking photos and videos as the royal spoke 

The couple got into their black Suburban Chevrolet as they left the UN building, heading further south in the back of the car

Harry and Meghan met with the President of the UN General Assembly Abdulla Ahahid as well as the two winners of the 2020 Nelson Mandela prize

Rep. Lisa McClain added: ‘Yet again, the Duke and Duchess are sticking their nose into American politics by attacking the U.S. rule of law.

‘I think it’s time we buy them a history book on the Revolutionary War to remind them that our government stopped caring about the ‘royals’ opinion back in 1776.’

Editor Amber Athey wrote for the Spectator: ‘I can’t help but laugh at the same guy who called the First Amendment “bonkers” fretting about an alleged erosion of constitutional rights.

‘Presumably, if Prince Harry had his way, we’d be policing speech à la the UK, where you can be thrown in jail for supposed “hate speech.”

This would constitute a much greater threat to freedom and democracy than anything referred to in Prince Harry’s UN address.

‘Prince Harry previously admitted that he does not fully “understand” the US Constitution, having only been here a “short time.” It’s no surprise that he’s made no attempt to rectify that in the past year.

‘Harry hasn’t got the American spirit. Red-blooded colonials once took up arms against the Duke of Sussex’s ancestors; comparatively, Prince Harry sold his gun collection to appease his spoiled wife.’

It is not the first time the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have waded into American politics, finding themselves in hot water after commenting on the US election.

During a Time 100 video in September 2020 they called on American voters to ‘reject hate speech, misinformation and online negativity’ in ‘the most important election of our life.’

Members of the royal family are supposed to be politically neutral, when they stepped back from their roles the Sussex’s vowed that ‘everything they do will uphold the values of Her Majesty’.

Harry and Meghan’s forays into US politics 

2020 – During a September video shot for Time 100 before the presidential election, Harry and Meghan called on American voters to ‘reject hate speech, misinformation and online negativity’ in ‘the most important election of our life,’ which was viewed as a not-so-veiled rebuke of President Donald Trump.

Critics of the formerly-royal couple’s comments included none other than her majesty’s family, who noted the Sussexes vowed that ‘everything they do will uphold the values of Her Majesty’ – values that are supposed to include not picking sides in political matters. Buckingham Palace was forced to distance itself from Harry’s remarks by saying that ‘the Duke is not a working member of the royal family’ and describing his comments as ‘made in a personal capacity’. 

A Source close to the Sussexes also noted Meghan was keen to keep her American citizenship after she became a royal in case she ever wanted to go into US politics. The source told Vanity Fair’s Katie Nicholl that Meghan ‘would seriously consider running for president’ after she gave up her royal title.

2021 – Meghan is revealed to have been calling Republican senators on their personal phones and using her former royal title to urge them to vote in favor of a paid paternal leave legislation. 

 ‘This is Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex,’ Markle reportedly said to West Virginia senator Moore Capito. She also did the same with Senator Susan Collins of Maine. 

‘Much to my surprise, she called me on my private line and introduced herself as the Duchess of Sussex, which is kind of ironic’ said Collins.  ‘I was happy to talk with her, but I’m more interested in what people from Maine are telling me about paid leave,’ she told Politico.

She also submitted a 1,030 word letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in which she made made a plea for the parental legislation. The letter was written on Duchess of Sussex letterhead. In the letter, the former duchess wrote that the US’s economic systems were ‘past their expiration date’ and ‘too many Americans are forced to shortchange themselves when it comes to what matters to them.’

2022 – In May, Markle chartered a private jet to travel 1,400 miles to Texas where she laid a bouquet of white ‘peace’ roses at a memorial to the 19 children and two teachers slain at Robb Elementary School by murderous maniac Salvador Ramos. She also made a surprise visit to a blood center with two crates of food and drinks for donors, volunteers revealed, as one admitted: ‘I had no idea who she was’ and another confused her with a neighbor.

Though cameras and news crews surrounded the memorial on Thursday, Markle did not make any remarks to the press. Then in an interview with Vogue following the overturning of Roe v Wade, Meghan also urged men to be ‘more vocal’ with their anger at the repealing of Roe v Wade and said that Prince Harry’s response to the Supreme Court’s decision last Friday was ‘guttural.’

‘My husband and I talked about that a lot over the past few days. He’s a feminist too,’ she said, adding ‘We have to channel that fear into action. We can start this November in the midterms. We have to vote, every time.’

Markle said she was willing to travel to Washington DC to join in on pro choice marches. Conservative Georgia congressman Rep.

Buddy Carter chimed in on Markle’s comments, saying ‘I think Americans made it pretty clear in 1776 that they don’t want members of the British Royal Family making decisions for them.’ In earlier in the spring, the Sussexes hired Miranda Barbot, a former aide to president Barack Obama who was central to his successful reelection campaign in 2012. 

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