Last week, Prince Harry surprised everyone by arriving in Ukraine for a two-day visit centered around a keynote speech at a security conference and tons of work around Invictus and The Halo Trust. The speech was the first order of business, and Harry called out Vladimir Putin and “American leadership” for their roles in allowing Russia’s war with Ukraine to play out the way it has in the past four-plus years. The problem with Harry’s speech? Nothing, really. Most Britons agree with Harry’s assessment, and many Americans agree with him as well. That’s where it gets tricky for the royalists – they want to blast Harry for being so political and for “attacking” Donald Trump, but they also can’t go full-throttle deranger because Trump is so despicable and unpopular everywhere. Well, trust that Richard Eden is trying to thread that needle and still blame Harry for… trying to steal his brother’s thunder!!
Harry’s thinly veiled criticism of Donald Trump at the Kyiv Security Forum, days before the King’s visit to America, is yet another indelicate attempt by the Prince to ‘grab those headlines’, Richard Eden has told Palace Confidential.
The Daily Mail’s Diary Editor claimed Ukraine presents an opportunity to Harry because the British government is unlikely to allow Prince William to visit the war-torn nation. This hands the Prince, Eden said, a unique chance to ‘one up’ his brother, regardless of the strain it places on his father’s already complicated mission to help repair the special relationship.
Speaking on Thursday to an audience of senior defence and government officials in Kyiv, Harry called on the US to honour its international treaty obligations to Ukraine, telling the room this is ‘a moment for American leadership.’
Eden was speaking on a special US edition of Palace Confidential, broadcasting from New York ahead of the King’s visit. He was joined by Royal Editor Rebecca English and Senior Editor-at-Large Richard Kay, who will be covering every stage of Charles’s state visit as it happens.
‘At the moment, Harry and Meghan seem determined to grab those headlines’, Eden argued. ‘To put this in context, Harry is in the US as a guest. They have kindly let him live in the country despite admitting to past drug use. Then, he gives speeches lecturing their President on how he should be conducting world affairs. It’s sheer chutzpah at best, but I would say, arrogant at worst. Also, this grandstanding in Ukraine – it’s not the first time. Last time he visited, Harry arrived on the same day as our Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper.’
‘He knows it’s difficult for Prince William to visit Ukraine. William has been on military exercises, and he’s been close to the country, but I don’t think the British government would let him go. Harry knows this, so it’s a chance for a bit of one-upmanship.’
Rebecca English agreed, suggesting there would be ‘a lot of sighing and rolling of eyes’ in the King’s camp this morning. Harry made the comments on the same day as Prince Louis’s eighth birthday and just four days before the King’s first audience with Donald Trump.
English said: ‘I have not had the chance to speak to anyone at the Palace yet. But, I can imagine a lot of sighing, rolling eyes and maybe the odd head in hands. The timing is terrible. If Harry had gone to Ukraine because he wanted to highlight the work of Invictus, that I think is acceptable. But he’s not done that. He has gone and given a very high profile, deeply political speech at a time where the President of the country which his father is visiting has expressed doubts about Ukraine’s leadership. It can only be taken as a dig to President Trump. So, the timing for the Palace really is not great.’
“He knows it’s difficult for Prince William to visit Ukraine… I don’t think the British government would let him go. Harry knows this, so it’s a chance for a bit of one-upmanship.” How dare Harry go to a country which William isn’t allowed to visit!! Harry should avoid visiting every country which William might theoretically visit at some point!! But really, William is a coward and a lazy bum. We’ve seen William shrug off advice and guidance a million times when that guidance is along the lines of “you need to work more” or “please, for the love of god, will you visit Commonwealth realms because it’s your job?” William does what he wants to do, and if William isn’t visiting Ukraine, it’s because William doesn’t want to go.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
