Meghan Markle is often the subject of bizarre theories and opinions from the British press, but their latest spin might take the cake. The Duchess of Sussex is being accused of masterminding Prince Harry’s Pat Tillman Award for Service at the ESPY Awards on July 11. Now, make that make sense to us, please.
Charlotte Griffiths, editor-at-large for the Mail on Sunday, claimed on the Palace Confidential show that Meghan is treating her Montecito, California life like a “prom event.” She added, “I get the impression that life for Meghan Markle at the moment is a sort of prom event and [Harry] is the prom king and she’s the prom queen and she’s setting up all these events over the years that they can attend together.”
The Duchess of Sussex isn’t the one who organizes the ESPY Awards, so those seem like some off-base allegations. Griffiths is basically saying that Meghan worked behind the scenes to get Harry a high-profile award so they could walk a red carpet together for PR. Given the fact that there’s a red carpet almost every day of the week in Hollywood, they could achieve that without the ESPYS honor.
The glaring fact that seems to be missing from this equation is that some British tabloids are sour about Prince Harry’s Invictus Games being a great success. Even though he started the event within the royal system, he raised the bar even higher after his exit. The royal family was criticized for not showing up to the Duke of Sussex’s 10th-anniversary celebration of the Invictus Games in May, so there appears to be a war going on in the press, too.
“Charles has made it quite clear he is ready to be friendly and supportive to Harry in his capacity as a private person, as his dad, but he is not going to throw the weight of the institution behind Invictus again,” a former royal staffer told The Daily Beast earlier this year. “This all seems very logical inside the Palace bubble, but the trouble is that people who don’t particularly care about such things, who are dimly aware that the royals spend their days visiting community centers and opening supermarkets, are going to wonder why they are boycotting this terrific charity that is headed by the king’s son.”
Harry and Meghan will continue to grow the Invictus Games as they expand to winter sports in Vancouver, Canada in 2025, and they will likely be honored by other organizations in the future. But let’s remember, it’s because of their hard work and Harry’s passion for the project. It’s not about Meghan throwing her weight around to walk a red carpet.
Click here to see Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s complete relationship timeline.
