Palace distances itself from Harry’s US election remarks
BUCKINGHAM Palace has appeared to distance itself from comments made by the Duke of Sussex as Harry urged people in the US to “reject hate speech” and vote in the presidential elections.
Harry has faced a backlash amid claims of political interference and suggestions he is telling people to vote against Republican nominee President Donald Trump.
The Palace highlighted the fact that the duke is no longer a working royal, and said his remarks were made in a “personal capacity”.
A palace spokesman said: “We would not comment.
“The duke is not a working member of the Royal Family and any comments he makes are made in a personal capacity.”
Harry remains sixth in line to the throne despite stepping down as a senior working royal, and members of the Royal Family traditionally do not vote or become involved in elections or political matters.
The Queen, as a constitutional head of state, is politically neutral.
The monarch’s grandson said in a video for Time magazine as he sat on a bench alongside Meghan at their Californian home: “As we approach this November, it’s vital that we reject hate speech, misinformation and online negativity.”
Mr Trump, who is campaigning for re-election, has often been criticised for using inflammatory language, and in August, Facebook deleted one
of his posts for the first time for violating its policy against spreading misinformation about coronavirus.
Twitter began labelling Mr Trump’s tweets with fact checks in May.
Broadcaster Piers Morgan condemned Harry for his remarks, tweeting: “Prince Harry poking his woke nose into the US election & effectively telling Americans to vote against President Trump is completely unacceptable behaviour for a member of the Royal Family.”
A source close to Harry insisted the duke was not referring to Mr Trump nor any other individual.
“The duke was talking about the tone of debate in the run-up to an election which is already quite febrile,” they said.
“He is not talking about any candidate or specific campaign.
“He is building on a lot of stuff that he’s said before about online communities, how we engage with each other online, rather than specifically making any political points.”
Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine, questioned the wisdom of Harry’s comments.
“I think it is understandable that Meghan, as a US citizen, is doing what she is doing to encourage people to vote in the forthcoming election, but I question the wisdom of her husband doing likewise,” Mr Little said.
“Harry is no longer a working member of the Royal Family but he remains a senior member of the Royal Family and with that comes responsibilities.”