By Sheila Mckenzie-
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were last night grilled by journalists who asked if the couple were putting money before family as they graced a star-studded gala hosted by the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights organisation, where the couple award for fighting racism in the Royal Family.
The couple ignored the question but the duke could be heard saying ‘so many questions’ before the couple were escorted inside.
The couple released a statement announcing a new partnership between their charitable Archewell Foundation and the RFKHR, saying: “together we know that a ripple of hope can turn into a wave of change”.
One clip of Harry was provided by organisers that featured Harry joking, in a stage Q&A, about how he thought Meghan was taking him on a “date night”.
Speaking onstage with RFKHR president Kerry Kennedy, Harry said: “I’ll be honest with you Kerry I just thought we were just going on a date night so I found it quite weird that we’re sharing the room with 1,500 people.
Critics have slammed the award to the couple as having an ulterior motive, after alarm was raised over their selection , especially when compared with the stature of past recipients of the award.
The feud between Prince Harry, his wife Meghan Markle, and the royal family appears to be spiralling out of control.
Allies claimed on camera that it was ‘a war against Meghan to suit other people’s agendas’, with one going so far as to state: ‘It’s about hatred, it’s about race’. In clips for the show, the prince also appear to take aim at royal aides, smirking as he comments: ‘It’s a dirty game.’
The comments are believed to be designed to inflame the situation and exploit the latest race row that led to the resignation of Prince William’s grandmother, who stepped down from her post following racist comments towards a black charity worker, Ms Fulani, after interrogating the guest about where she is really from.
The late Queen Elizabeth, Harry’s grandmother, said at the time that while their claims, particularly about racial issues, had been ‘concerning’, they were not all accepted – famously using the phrase ‘recollections may vary’.
The couple were recognised for work on ‘anti-racism’ alongside other honourees including Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. According to the RFKHR, honourees are those who have demonstrated ‘an unwavering commitment to social change and worked to protect and advance equity, justice, and human rights’.
Last night the Duke and Duchess vowed their war against ‘oppression’ has only just begun at a lavish New York awards ceremony.
Harry and Meghan delivered the politically charged pre-taped remarks after being honoured with an award for fighting racism in the Royal Family by the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Foundation, a prize that counts Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton among its former recipients.
Meghan also talked about her struggle with suicidal thoughts since becoming a member of the Royal Family, telling the audience she ‘didn’t want to be alive anymore’ , adding that the decision not to end her life ‘wasn’t easy’, in remarks echoing those made during her bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex at event in New York City
The Duke of Sussex told guests at the Ripple of Hope Gala: ‘As we all face a complete and challenging time in the world, we choose the path of optimism of care for each other and our communities. We understand this honour, not about the culmination of a life’s work, but instead and in many ways for us, a beginning.’
He said: ‘Bobby Kennedy said, ”Each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.”’
His wife said: ‘The enduring dream of RFK of a just and peaceful world is so much more than a simple hope. It’s a direct ask, a specific challenge, a call to action, a test of individual courage and collective spirit. And his appeal to humanity is as relevant today as it was in 1966 when he stood before the University of Cape Town, a place we’ve visited and hold close to our hearts. And he delivered a vision for the common good of society.
‘He also said those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance’.
Judge Rinder criticised the duke and duchess of sussex, claiming there were so many people more deserving of a human rights award. He said: ‘The thing that strikes me is – just have a little bit of humility… you think of people who have spent their lives campaigning for human rights – Baroness Doreen Laurence, Kwajo [Tweneboa] who works in housing, the women of Iran who are fighting for freedom at the moment, ordinary citizens in China.
‘The idea that you… would go and collect a human rights award for taking lots of money to gripe at your family and in my view not really do anything meaningful to expose structural racism, but rather instead damage an institution.
‘Surely what you would do is you have the profound and clear and honest humility as a human being to know that there are real people out there who you should accept the award for on their behalf, given the real human rights work they do.
‘You can tell I feel quite passionate about this, because the idea I or anybody else here would accept a human rights award given what is going on around our globe, strikes me at the very least – to use the language of that world – problematic.’
Prince Harry claimed there was ‘a war against Meghan’ and alleged the couple had suffered from leaks and planted stories that backed up the Royal Family ‘hierarchy’.
The couple have been criticised for misrepresenting an allegedly intrusive press with photographs proven to have been taken with the couple’s consent.
The photograph is said to have been taken when the couple met Archbishop Desmond Tutu in Cape Town, and that Harry and Meghan had agreed where three accredited photographers and journalists could stand. He said it was a ‘complete travesty’ to use the photograph as an example of intrusion.
All eyes will wait for the Netflix documentary to establish exactly what was said.