Prince Harry was mistakenly referred to as the “Duke of Wessex” by a fellow speaker yesterday after his keynote speech at the UN General Assembly in New York.
The 37-year-old Duke of Sussex, who currently resides in his $14 million mansion in California after stepping down from royal duties, threw himself into US politics when, during his speech at the Nelson Mandela Day denounced the “revocation of constitutional rights”.
However, the next speaker, Omar Hilale, President of the African Group at the United Nations, seemed puzzled by Harry’s title and referred to him as “Prince Duke of Wessex” shortly after the king had finished his speech.
While the king’s official title is Duke of Sussex, his uncle Prince Edward is the Earl of Wessex.
Prince Harry, 37, was mistakenly referred to as the “Duke of Wessex” by a fellow speaker yesterday after his keynote speech at the UN General Assembly in New York
Omar Hilale, President of the African Group at the United Nations, seemed puzzled by Harry’s title, referring to him as “Prince Duke of Wessex” shortly after his speech.
Mr Hilale was the speaker who took the stage immediately after Prince Harry and mentioned the Duke in his speech.
He said: “And as has just been said by the Prince Duke of Wessex, every day, not just one day a year, every body has the capacity and responsibility to change the world for the better.”
Mr. Hilale is a Moroccan career diplomat and has been Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York since his appointment to that position in April 2014.
It was a defining moment for Prince Harry, who had just delivered his most politically charged speech yet.
It was a defining moment for Prince Harry, who had just delivered his most politically charged speech yet
While Prince Harry and Meghan previously visited Morocco in February 2019, they are not believed to have met Mr Hilale during their trip.
During his speech, the king denounced the Supreme Court’s decision to rule Roe v. overthrowing Wade as a “global attack on democracy and freedom”.
Despite the event set to be held to celebrate Nelson Mandela Day, the prince launched an attack on American politics during his keynote address.
He said: “This has been a painful year in a painful decade. We are living through a pandemic that continues to devastate communities in all parts of the world.
“Climate change is wreaking havoc on our planet, with the most vulnerable suffering the most. The few armed lies and disinformation at the expense of the many.
“And from the horrific war in Ukraine to the rolling back of constitutional justice in the US, we are witnessing a global assault on democracy and freedom, the cause of Mandela’s life.
Harry has also blasted the “rollback of constitutional rights” and criticized SCOTUS for its decision to lift federal protections on abortion.
The comments, heard Monday morning in a largely empty room at the United Nations, were the latest broadside from US politicians.
They followed Meghan’s recent remarks to Vogue magazine, in which she joined famous feminist icon Gloria Steinem in urging men to be “louder” with their anger at the decision to oust Roe.
Steinem, seen with the Duchess earlier Monday, has recruited Meghan to her fight to get Congress to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment – a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution aimed at making all American citizens independent to guarantee equal legal rights of sex.
During the event, Prince Harry could be seen whispering to Meghan as they exchanged a few words
Shortly after Prince Harry accepted the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Branded overthrowing Wade as a “global assault on democracy and freedom,” another speaker mis-titled it
Monday wasn’t the first time the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have dived into American politics and found themselves in hot water after commenting on the US election.
During a September 2020 Time 100 video, they urged American voters to “reject hate speech, misinformation and online negativity” in “the most important choice of our lives.”
Members of the royal family are said to be politically neutral, but as they stepped down from their roles, the Sussex’s vowed that “everything they do will uphold Her Majesty’s values”.
During his speech, Harry also blasted the “rollback of constitutional rights” and criticized SCOTUS for its decision to lift federal protections on abortion
