Last Wednesday and Thursday, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were in Jordan, attached to the World Health Organization. As I’ve now said repeatedly, this visit closely resembled the kinds of international trips made by celebrity UN ambassadors like Angelina Jolie (when she was UNHCR’s special envoy) or various Unicef ambassadors like David Beckham. Prince Harry and Meghan’s schedule was, in my opinion, largely dictated and organized by WHO. But something interesting happened when they were on the ground. Britain’s ambassador to Jordan, Philip Hall, issued a statement thanking the Sussexes for their visit and highlighting the work of the UN and WHO within Jordan. Not only that, but it appears as if the British embassy hosted some kind of reception for Harry and Meghan during their trip. Well, Harry’s bald-demon brother has been punching walls and shrieking nonstop about every single little thing about the Sussexes’ Jordanian visit, and now Prince William has gotten some “former Tory minister” to whine on his behalf.
After Harry and Meghan were apparently snubbed by the King, Queen and Crown Prince of Jordan, the British Government has also distanced itself from the couple’s Middle East trip, the Daily Mail can reveal today. The Foreign Office was criticised when the Sussexes revealed they had been hosted by the British Ambassador in Amman, Phillip Hall.
Former Tory minister Tim Loughton told the Daily Mail that it was ‘entirely inappropriate’ that they were guests of Mr Hall given the couple’s claim to be private citizens. The Foreign Office has declined to comment on the two-day visit to Jordan by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
But a source with knowledge of the trip has said the British Ambassador had not invited Harry and Meghan to his reception marking Iftar – the meal eaten by Muslims at sunset to break their fast during Ramadan. The invitation had been to Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). He had then asked the Duke and Duchess along as his guests, it is understood. The source insisted that the British Government had not been involved in arranging or facilitating their trip because they are ‘private citizens’.
The couple have said they were in Jordan at the invitation of the WHO and its boss Dr Tedros. The couple had said in their own press release this week: ‘At sunset, the Duke and Duchess joined World Health Organisation officials and Embassy staff at the British Ambassador’s residence for Iftar as day one closed with a renewed sense of urgency and resolve.’
One royal insider also said that their appearance at the British Ambassador’s reception was an ‘intriguing’ part of the trip. The source added: ‘Once again, British diplomats are involved’.
While Mr Loughton told the Daily Mail: ‘They are not working royals and do not represent the British Government or UK PLC. Given their capacity to say unhelpful things which border on political, giving them an official platform could be construed as them saying something that represents official UK policy. It would be legitimate for the embassy to assist on security issues and neutral briefing but not anything that platforms them on what should clearly be seen as a private visit by private individuals’.
So… if the unnamed Foreign Office source is correct, the British embassy extended an invitation to WHO official Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who was basically hosting/organizing the Sussexes’ visit. The embassy was clearly being kept in the loop about the Sussexes’ visit, and the ambassador likely invited Dr. Tedros, expecting him to include the Sussexes. That’s a typical diplomatic maneuver, although I wouldn’t expect Prince William to understand what happened. In fact, the invitation to Dr. Tedros emphasizes that the Sussexes were there on behalf of WHO, not the British government.
As for all of this enraged incandescence… I thought William was supposed to be a big-boy global statesman? Does he not understand how any of this works? Celebrity ambassadors are often looped into embassy meetings or receptions, as well as meetings with heads of state and/or government officials. All of this is done to raise awareness and drive donations. Is William too stupid to understand philanthropy and charitable advocacy work? Don’t answer that.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
