Duke and Duchess of Sussex run gauntlet of negative cries from group of protesters during UK visit
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex ran a gauntlet of boos as they arrived at the first public engagement of their pseudo-royal tour.
Harry and Meghan were met by demonstrators as they pulled up at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, despite using a decoy car and entering through a back door.
In the building, where Meghan would later give a keynote address at the One Young World summit for youth leaders, the welcome was warm.
But minutes earlier, as the couple climbed out of their car, many in a 100-strong crowd booed from behind a barrier just yards away, with onlookers saying it was so loud ‘there was no doubt they would have heard’. One protester was carrying a sign that read: ‘FO Harry and Me-Gain Fake Royals.’
A woman who gave her name as Janet, from Manchester, accused Meghan of being a ‘liar and a hypocrite’ and of launching an ‘attack’ on the Royal Family.
Harry and Meghan were booed as they arrived at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall for the annual One Young World Summit
One protester was carrying a sign that read: ‘FO Harry and Me-Gain Fake Royals’
A woman who gave her name as Janet (pictured), accused Meghan of being a ‘liar and a hypocrite’
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, gave a keynote speech about gender inequality to the audience of 2,000
‘She’s a fake humanitarian and a fake feminist,’ she said. ‘She’s a social climber… she thought she could be a celebrity in the Royal Family and she’s the most toxic, divisive woman I’ve ever heard of in my life.’
The woman, who was wearing a T-shirt bearing a skeletal hand clutching money and a quote from the duchess, said: ‘The Queen has been on the throne for 70 years and she’s had to put up with all this trouble. Meghan has used every card she can – racism, mental health, feminism. She’s not a feminist, she’s just a hypocrite.’
Another protester, called Anna, said: ‘I thought Meghan was going to be a breath of fresh air. But she’s had an ulterior motive from the start.
‘I’ve come here today primarily to make a point. She needs to live more honestly and she should have shown more respect as a member of the Royal Family.’
But Patricia Downs, 50, who travelled to Manchester from London because she’s a fan of the couple, said: ‘Meghan’s done nothing wrong. The only thing she did wrong – as a bi-racial woman – was marry a member of the Royal Family.
‘The media and the Royal Family have got an agenda against her.’
The duchess attended a round-table session with delegates on gender equality before making a speech at the One Young World summit’s opening ceremony.
There was a large crowd gathered outside the building, many of the 100-strong crowd booed from behind a barrier
One onlooker said ‘there was no doubt they would have heard’ the boos
Meghan Markle left the stage to applause and a smattering of cheers, rather than boos
Addressing the 2,000-strong crowd, with representatives from 190 countries, she said it was ‘nice to be back in the UK’ and described them as ‘the future, but also the present, driving the positive and necessary change needed across the globe’.
She spoke of how she joined the One Young World organisation as a counsellor in 2014, describing her then-self as ‘young, ambitious and advocating for things I deeply and profoundly believed in’.
But the duchess said she was filled with self-doubt, branding herself ‘the girl from Suits’, adding: ‘I was surrounded by world leaders, humanitarians, prime ministers and activists that I had such a deep and longstanding respect and admiration for… and I was asked to pull up a seat at the table.’
She and Harry left the stage to applause and there were also a smattering of cheers, rather than boos this time, as they got into their car to catch the train back to London Euston.
The couple, who are staying at Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor estate, will today be in Germany for the launch of the Invictus Games Dusseldorf 2023, the Paralympic-style event for servicemen and women founded by the prince.
They will meet officials and potential competitors ahead of selection later this year, as well as athletes’ friends and family. On Thursday the couple will attend the WellChild Awards, which celebrate the bravery of young people from across the UK who have coped with a serious illness or disability. Harry is a long-term patron of the charity and kept the role after quitting royal duties.
Notably, media access to the awards, normally open to all, has been severely curtailed this year without any explanation. The structure of the Sussexes’ trip and nature of the engagements have the appearance of a typical royal tour.
One insider said archly that it was ‘ironic given they profess to hate everything about the institution and royal life’.