Prince Harry shocked in United Nations speech with a major attack on the US
Prince Harry launched an astonishing attack on the US, comparing it to Russia invading Ukraine as part of a ‘global assault’ on freedom. See photos, videos, reactions.
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Prince Harry used a keynote speech to the United Nations in New York to unleash an extraordinary attack on his adopted home.
The Duke of Sussex, supported by his wife Meghan Markle, compared the US government to Russia invading Ukraine as part of a “global assault on democracy and freedom”.
He opined that the US was responsible for the “rolling back of Constitutional rights”, in seeming reference to the legal decision on the Roe v Wade abortion precedent by the Supreme Court, a co-equal branch of the US government alongside the White House and Congress.
It was an unprecedented break in the Royal’s protocol of not commenting on geopolitical decisions, a long-running practice that has made his grandmother, the Queen, so beloved across the political spectrum and both sides of the Atlantic.
His comments were made amid otherwise benign remarks to observe Mandela Day, a celebration of the life of Nelson Mandela, who shared a special relationship with Prince Harry’s mother, Princess Diana.
He began his foray into the US political debate by saying it was easy to feel anger or despair during a “a time of global uncertainty and division”.
“This has been a painful year in a painful decade. We’re living through a pandemic that continues to ravage communities in every corner of the globe, climate change wreaking havoc on our planet, with the most vulnerable suffering most of all,” Prince Harry began.
“The few, weaponising lies and disinformation at the expense of the many,” he continued. And from the horrific war in Ukraine, to the rolling back of Constitutional rights here in the United States, we are witnessing a global assault on democracy and freedom, the cause of Mandela’s life.”
Outrageous. It's not for British Prince Harry to comment on U.S. constitutional law. That's the job of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. https://t.co/rZAlo5iUrP
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) July 18, 2022
Under the US Constitution, the judicial branch of the US Government that interprets the law, the Supreme Court, is of equal importance to the legislative branch that makes the law, the Congress, and the executive branch that enforces it, the White House.
Prince Harry’s suggestion that the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Constitution was an “assault on Democracy” is, in the US, seen as of criticising the presidency or congressional lawmakers over its political decisions.
The 1973 “Roe v Wade” ruling codified the right to access abortion into federal law, and the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision effectively placed the lawmaking power over abortion access to the individual legislatures of the US’s 50 states.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz lampooned the prince by suggesting he should actually be referring to Joe Biden’s attempts to roll back the Second Amendment right to bare arms.
Miraculous: Prince Harry calls out Joe Biden’s "rolling back of Constitutional rights in the United States" as "a global assault on democracy & freedom."
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 18, 2022
Who would have thought the prince would speak out in support of free speech, religious liberty & the Second Amendment? 🤷ðŸ»â€â™‚ï¸ https://t.co/TOwqOaShMJ
GB News presenter Colin Brazier added the prince’s apparent criticism of Roe v Wade roundly criticised if a senior member of the Royal family made such a statement.
“If his father had made this kind of intervention in another country’s democracy, he’d have been rightly condemned,” he said.
In a speech Prince Harry just gave to the UN, he appeared to criticise the US Supreme Court for re-asserting the right of states to set their own laws on abortion. If his father had made this kind of intervention in another country's democracy, he'd have been rightly condemned. pic.twitter.com/9EDWxExSa0
— Colin Brazier (@colinbrazierGBN) July 18, 2022
Amber Athey, The Spectator’s Washington editor, said “the pompous Brit who called the First Amendment “bonkers” doesn’t get to opine on the alleged “rolling back” of Constitutional rights”.
The pompous Brit who called the First Amendment “bonkers†doesn’t get to opine on the alleged “rolling back†of Constitutional rights https://t.co/UJj9bCMYzI
— Amber Athey (@amber_athey) July 18, 2022
Prince Harry’s criticism of the decision follow Meghan telling Vogue magazine that she and her husband was a “feminist” and that his reaction to the ruling was “guttural, like mine”.
“Men need to be vocal in this moment and beyond because these are decisions that affect relationships, families and communities at large,” the former American actress explained.
“They may target women, but the consequences impact all of us. My husband and I talked about that a lot over the past few days. He’s a feminist too.”
Both the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been widely criticised for their continued forays into US politics since they officially left the Royal family and moved to California.
They flew to New York on Monday local time to attend United Nations General Assembly at the invitation of South Africa.
Prince Harry arrived holding hands with Meghan, who was dressed in a black Givenchy short sleeve top and mid-length pencil skirt paired with a $2,200 black Mulberry bag and $1000 black suede Manolo Blahnik shoes.
During the speech, the Duke paid tribute to Mandela as “not only a man of conscience” but “a man of action.”
“As we sit here today, our world is on fire again,” he said, adding that “historic weather events are no longer historic.”
“More and more, they are part of our daily lives. And this crisis will only grow worse unless our leaders lead.
“Unless the countries represented by the seats in this hallowed hall make the decisions, the daring, transformative decisions that our world needs to save humanity,” he added.
In 2009, the UN designated July 18, Mandela’s birthday, as the official day to honour his life and legacy.
Harry spoke about his personal connection to Mandela, adding that a photograph of him with his mother is “on my wall and in my heart every day.”
The 1997 image was taken in Cape Town a few months before Diana’s death in a car crash in Paris.\
“When I first looked at the photo, straightaway what jumped out was the joy on my mother’s face. The playfulness, cheekiness even, the pure delight to be in communion with another soul so committed to serving humanity,” he said.
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