The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were snapped at a Kardashian bash ahead of Remembrance Sunday, with their appearance drawing in controversy over their juggling of royal association and their celebrity lifestyle
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were snapped at Kris Jenner’s 70th birthday party ahead of Remembrance Sunday, with their appearance drawing much controversy. Some royal commentators were furious that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would be photographed flagrantly partying ahead of such a sombre day in the royal calendar, while others believed the self-exiled royal couple should be able to live their Hollywood lives as they choose.
And according to former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond, Harry and Meghan’s decision to attend the celebrity bash would have little to no bearing on the Firm and how they marked the emotional day.
Before Remembrance Sunday, Harry travelled to Sunnybrook Hospital’s Veterans centre in Toronto, Canada, where he met with veterans. In honour of the 11th day of the 11th month, Meghan also marked the day with a post focused on Harry and his experience in the army.
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Meghan also paid tribute to veterans “who served, sacrificed and continued to serve” in a social media post on Remembrance Day, as she shared a memorable moment from Prince Harry’s second deployment in Afghanistan. The 2013 clip shows Harry stopping a TV interview mid-sentence and darting off to his helicopter as a military alert blares.
The post was captioned: “‘As my husband says, ‘Once served. Always serving.’ Thank you to all who served, sacrificed, and continued to serve. Honoring you on Veterans Days. And every day.”
Despite both the Sussexes acknowledging the day in their own way, some were disappointed in Meghan for not wearing a poppy pin to the Kardashian bash, despite Harry pinning the flower to his jacket lapel.
But as Jennie Bond explained to the Mirror, they paid tribute to veterans on their own time, and shouldn’t be demonised for attending the party, despite it falling on such an important day.
She said: “Well, I’m not sure they need to hide away because of Remembrance Day. After all, Harry paid his own tribute during his trip to Canada. And he was wearing his poppy at the party, so he wasn’t ignoring the date. It was perhaps just an unfortunate diary clash, but they have chosen the celebrity LA life now, so they might as well live it and own up to it.”
Jennie went on to say that more attention has been drawn to the Sussexes at the party since photos of them enjoying themselves at the bash mysteriously disappeared off Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner’s Instagram accounts.
The royal expert claimed: “Things have only been made worse by the hooha over photos of them at the party being ‘mysteriously’ deleted. That’s a sure-fired way of giving a story ‘legs’, in other words drawing even more attention to their presence at the party.”
And while some royal commentators and fans alike were infuriated by Harry and Meghan’s attendance at the party, Jennie Bond believes it would have made no bearing on the royal family.
She said: “I don’t think the Palace would have taken much notice and I’m sure they are not in the least bit bothered about whether the Sussexes are now having a barney with the Kardashians! Meghan in particular seems to want to hang out with celebrities, and that’s fair enough. But it increasingly obliterates any memory that she was once, very briefly, a royal.”
