Prince Harry has been hit with backlash for wearing four medals while presenting a prestigious “Soldier of the Year” award from his Montecito mansion.
The Duke of Sussex, who served in the UK armed forces for 10 years, appeared via Zoom on Thursday to present the award to US combat medic, Sergeant First Class Elizabeth Marks.
However, haters were distracted by Harry’s medals, which they claimed were any attempt to “create an illusion for the American market” and took attention away from the servicewoman being honored.
The prince pinned four medals to his chest: an Afghanistan campaign medal, a Golden Jubilee medal, a Diamond Jubilee medal and a Platinum Jubilee medal.
The first was presented to Harry for his military service in Afghanistan, while the other three were presented to him by Queen Elizabeth II.
“3 Jubilee medals… and a bunker service medal,” one snarked in a post on X.
“Good god, how pathetic,” another raged. “He needs someone to advise him on optics. The participation medals are a sad cry for ‘Looook at meeeeeeeee.’”
However, others jumped to the defense of the prince, saying his Afghanistan campaign medal was well deserved.
Harry undertook two tours of Afghanistan, first serving between 2007 and 2008, before returning for a second time in 2012.
“He is entitled to wear his medals,” one defender declared.
“Medals he earned,” a second stated.
Meanwhile, some eagle-eyed pundits pointed out that Harry was not wearing a Coronation medal recently given to him by his father, King Charles.
Royal commentator Richard FitzWilliams told The Sun that it was a “snub” on the prince’s part.
“The Sussexes do nothing by chance and this clearly emphasizes or is intended to emphasize his distance from the royal family,” he declared.