Prince Harry makes subtle dig at President Trump after King Charles extends ‘unprecedented’ invite
Prince Harry makes subtle dig at President Trump after King Charles extends ‘unprecedented’ invite
Harry made a surprise appearance in Los Angeles
Prince Harry has insisted that he is not on the “left or right” side of politics in a new speech in which he also made a subtle dig at President Trump.
The Duke made an appearance at the Upfront Summit in Los Angeles on Thursday February 27 in which he revealed he had been investing for the last five years and had been putting his focus into businesses that served the community and had an ethos of driving change.
However, during his speech, he hinted at an ongoing criticism of President Trump and his cabinet, as he referenced the “detrimental effect” on billions of people when “basic morals and empathy are abandoned in favor of power and control”.
© Samir Hussein/WireImage“Now this would be a great time to talk about how a sickness in leadership across sectors—from politics to tech—can have a detrimental effect on millions, if not billions, of people,” he said.
“When service to others is sacrificed for personal gain. When basic morals and empathy are abandoned in favor of power and control. But I’m not gonna get into all that now!”
© Getty ImagesIn Trump’s first six weeks in office he froze billions of dollars in foreign aid and fired more than 20,000 federal workers including military veterans.
He withdrew the US from the Paris climate agreement, an international deal to limit rising global temperatures, and also shut down all the offices of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes within the federal government, which helped women, disabled Americans, LGBTQIA+ and more find jobs.
It is thought that his administration may also cut Social Security retirement payments and the national Medicare health plan that are used by millions of Americans.
Trump and his family, according to a Wall Street Journal article, have however raked in $80 million in the months since he returned to office, including from donations to his future presidential library. A $10 million settlement with Elon Musk’s X, and $40 million from Jeff Bezos’ Amazon for a documentary about Trump’s wife Melania.
© AFP via Getty ImagesHarry’s comments come, however, after his father, King Charles, offered an “unprecedented” second invite to Trump for a state visit to the UK.
Traditionally, second-term presidents do not receive such honors – Trump received a state visit in 2019 during his first term – but Britain’s Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer presented Trump with the royal invitation during a meeting in the Oval Office.
“This is really special. This has never happened before. This is unprecedented, and I think that just symbolizes the strength of the relationship between us,” Keir said.
“On behalf of our wonderful first lady Melania and myself, the answer is yes, and we look forward to being there and honoring the King and honoring your country,” said Trump in response.
© AFP via Getty ImagesTrump is known to be a fan of King Charles and in particular the late Queen Elizabeth.
During a meeting with Prince William, the next -in-line to the throne, in December 2024, Trump recalled “warm and fond memories” of the late Queen. Kensington Palace shared that “the warm, friendly meeting lasted around 40 minutes,” and “the pair discussed a range of global issues but focused on the importance of the UK/US special relationship”.
© Getty Images“President Trump also shared some warm and fond memories with The Prince about the Late Queen for which HRH was extremely grateful,” the statement read.
In contrast, Trump has often hinted that he is not a fan of Harry, and previously indicated that he might deport the father-of-two due to his previous admission of drug use.
© POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesHowever earlier in 2025, when asked a second time about the prospect of deporting him, Trump replied: “I’ll leave him alone.”
Although Harry has never publicly spoken about Trump, the Duchess of Sussex has criticized the 76-year-old, calling him a “misogynist” and “divisive”.
