Are William and Kate America's favorite royals now? 'Hypocrites' Harry and Meghan's star on the wane
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: Amid a tiff with his brother Prince Harry, Prince William is going to be at the center of attention when he addresses the United Nations General Assembly and meets New York City’s former mayor and billionaire philanthropist Mike Bloomberg to promote Earthshot.
During his meeting with Bloomberg, the Duke of Cambridge will discuss the thorny subject of how to save the planet. Prince William is expected to receive a warm welcome from the VIPS of UN’s General Assembly and the citizens of the city, who are absolutely in love with him and his wife Kate Middleton. The prince's first visit to New York since 2014 is coming around the moment when his brother Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle seem to be losing their charm as America’s beloved royal couple.
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were one of America's favorite couples for a while but their popularity took a dip soon after Meghan’s bombshell interview with The Cut. The former ‘Suits’ actress took some digs at the royal family and hinted there could be more, adding she "never had to sign anything" that restricted her from talking.
In the interview, which came out soon after Markle made headlines for the claims she made on her Spotify podcast, Markle spoke about how a cast member of 'Lion King' compared her to Nelson Mandela. Apparently, a cast member told her at the Leicester Square red-carpet event, "I just need you to know, when you married into this family, we rejoiced in the streets the same we did when Mandela was freed from prison."
However, the veracity of her claims was soon questioned when the only South African cast member of 'The Lion King', Dr John Kani, denied having made the controversial remarks. Lebohang Morake, the South African composer for the film, also said he had spoken to the couple for less than a minute at the premiere but had no recollection of saying that. US media was quick to target Meghan, branding her as the "toddler in a tiara". The New York Post called Meghan a "spoiled princess" while The Washington Post said, "The only way for the Sussexes to build a truly new life, and have a wider impact on the causes they care about, is to stop making themselves the center of the story."
On the other hand, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are taking every right step possible to win over the US media and public. According to a recent poll, Kate is now more than twice as popular with the American public as Meghan. The question now is whether Prince William could yet steal Harry's 'crown' as America's favorite prince. This is especially plausible considering how Prince Harry is often slammed in the country for his double standards.
The Duke of Sussex was himself at the UN in July, where he gave a speech to delegates on Nelson Mandela International Day and preached about climate change. "This has been a painful year, in a painful decade," he said. "How many of us feel battered, helpless, in the face of a seemingly endless stream of disasters and devastation?" He also spoke of "finding hope where we have the courage to seek it."
Virtuous exhortations aside, the prince ended up taking a private flight to the UK to attend the Queen’s jubilee event. Climate experts revealed that his trip from UK to California resulted in ten times more carbon being emitted than any average commercial flight. Defending himself, Prince Harry has previously said that he travels commercial 99 percent of the time but is forced to opt for private jets in case of emergency and security. However, the public has not yet been entirely convinced.