Prince Harry and Meghan Markle accused of trying to silence one of NYC's poorest schools
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Melitina Hernandez is the principal of Manhattan’s Public School 123 - Mahalia Jackson, which Prince Harry, 39, and Meghan Markle, 42, visited in September 2021 and allegedly tried to stop the teachers and students from speaking out negatively in the future.
As per The Sun, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited Public School 123 - which also happens to be one of the least affluent schools in New York - and spent time with the students.
The Duchess dressed expensively in a $6,000 (approx) suit and Cartier jewelry for the visit to the school, which was also showcased in their Netflix documentary.
While the Duchess was seen reading from her picture book ‘The Bench’ to the second graders, Harry was seen sitting with the students.
Why did Harry and Meghan try to silence the students and staff?
It has been reported that the advisers for Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Foundation asked the school to sign a clause banning them from making any negative comments in the future.
It was alleged that the ban was requested for all kinds of social media posts “now or in the future,” as sources close to the royal couple’s foundation said that it was the standard practice followed.
The plan for the trip to the school began six months prior to the visit and the entire event was orchestrated by Toya Holness, a member of their PR team.
Requests under freedom of information rules led to the revelations about the lengths Archewell advisors went to protect the couple's image.
They revealed that the Department of Education received emails from the representatives of the Archewell Foundation three days prior to their visit. The emails asked for an “appearance release,” which included the prevention of negative comments in the future.
The NYC school's press secretary, Danielle Filson, sent another email asking for the best way to get all the agreements done. But it is not known whether the department ultimately agreed to the Sussexes’ requests.
Filson also requested to remove any mention of ‘The Bench’ “to make it a bit less promotion-ey.”
Harry and Meghan refused to ‘offer themselves up as currency for an economy of clickbait and distortion’
Earlier in 2020, Harry and Meghan sent a strongly worded letter through their lawyers to the editors of four British tabloids, the Sun, Mirror, Mail and Express, and all their titles and websites, to tell them that they would not have any future dealings with the outlets, per BBC.
In the letter, the lawyers wrote, “It is gravely concerning that an influential slice of the media, over many years, has sought to insulate themselves from taking accountability for what they say or print – even when they know it to be distorted, false, or invasive beyond reason.”
“When power is enjoyed without responsibility, the trust we all place in this much-needed industry is degraded,” they said, adding, “There is a real human cost to this way of doing business and it affects every corner of society.”
The letter continued, “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have watched people they know – as well as complete strangers – have their lives completely pulled apart for no good reason, other than the fact that salacious gossip boosts advertising revenue.”
“With that said, please note that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not be engaging with your outlet. There will be no corroboration and zero engagement,” the lawyers added in the letter that directly addressed the editors.
The lawyers further wrote, “This policy is not about avoiding criticism. It’s not about shutting down public conversation or censoring accurate reporting.”
They acceded that while “Media have every right to report on and indeed have an opinion on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, good or bad,” this reporting or opinion “ can’t be based on a lie.”
They also said that the couple would be happy to engage with other media houses “to spotlight issues and causes that so desperately need acknowledging… What they won’t do is offer themselves up as currency for an economy of clickbait and distortion.”