Harry, Meghan’s Announcements During William’s Diana Memorial Speech Raises Eyebrows – News18

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made two announcements on Thursday night that clashed with Prince William’s speech at the Diana Legacy Awards where he spoke about how his mother, Princess Diana, believed young people have the power to change the world.

The timing of the announcements raised eyebrows with some royal experts even saying that the timings were “no accident” and also pointed out that it was a rare occasion where the estranged brothers appeared together, although they were 5,000 miles apart and spoke at different times in the evening.

The brothers had together attended the previous editions of the ceremony held in honour of Princess Diana where an accolade is given to a young person aged 9-25 for their social action work from a charity that was set up based on the Princess of Wales’ belief that young people have the power to change the world.

Prince William attended the event for the Diana Legacy Awards at the Science Museum in London and Prince Harry made an appearance virtually from his Californian home.

Royal experts speaking to the Daily Mail pointed out that the reluctance to acknowledge each other’s presence at the event shows the depth of their feud.

Moments before Prince William arrived at the event, his sister-in-law the Duchess of Sussex announced her new lifestyle brand with an online video. Meghan Markle launched lifestyle and cooking brand American Riviera Orchard via Instagram.

During the speech, Prince William said his mother’s legacy was something both he and his wife Kate had sought to focus on through their work.

“I know that she would have been honoured to see a charity in her name doing such inspirational work to uplift young people from all corners of the globe. She taught me that everyone has the potential to give something back, that everyone in need deserves a supporting hand in life,” William said, as he handed awards to three awardees from Britain, the US, Pakistan, the UAE, and Jamaica.

Harry gave a talk via video-link from Montecito, long after his brother left the event, where he told the young winners: ‘I’m sorry I am not there. I wish I could be there with you guys’. He thanked the group for inspiring so many others and “protecting my mother’s legacy, I really appreciate that”.

While he was addressing the winners, Harry and Meghan announced the winner of their $100,000 NAACP – Archewell Foundation Digital Civil Rights Award. The award gives accolades to people and organisations at the forefront of the civil rights movement online.

“The Sussexes in my opinion do nothing by accident and timing is often absolutely pivotal. We’ve now just been reminded that there may be more shots in their locker than some of us thought. And it’s no accident,” Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliam was quoted as saying by MailOnline.

Ingrid Seward, the royal biographer and editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine said Princess Diana would have wanted the brothers to set their feud aside for the event. “I think she would have insisted that they came together however briefly by speaking over the video link in order to celebrate the winners of the prize organised in her name,” Seward was quoted as saying by TheMirror.