Prince Harry makes bold move to support King as royals remain silent

Prince Harry, who had been in the UK for his phone hacking case this week, went back to his roots as he defended his honour and supported his father King Charles with a bold statement.

The royals, by tradition, are not supposed to make a blatant political statement. They, however, are present to support the UK government in establishing diplomatic ties, which they prominently did last year by dutifully hosting US President Donald Trump for a second state visit. Even though, there were qualms about the visit given Trump’s statements about Canada’s sovereignty among other things.

However, the Duke of Sussex, who is not longer a working royal but still the younger son of the monarch, did not hold back in his response when Trump downplayed the support of NATO allies (including UK) during the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 off the back of the 9/11 attacks.

Prince Harry, who had served in two missions to Afghanistan, released a message also defending the stance of the UK, which the King would not have been able to do so openly.

“In 2001, NATO invoked Article 5 for the first—and only-time in history,” the statement read. “It meant that every allied nation was obliged to stand with the United States in Afghanistan, in pursuit of our shared security. Allies answered that call.”

He continued, “I served there. I made lifelong friends there. And I lost friends there.”

Harry stressed, “The United Kingdom alone had 457 service personnel killed. Thousands of lives were changed forever. Mothers and fathers buried sons and daughters. Children were left without a parent. Families are left carrying the cost.”

He concluded, “Those sacrifices deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect, as we all remain united and loyal to the defence of diplomacy and peace.”

During an appearance on Fox News, Trump said that he wasn’t “sure” if the US “ever needed” his allies. He stated, “We’ve never needed them. They'll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan… and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the frontlines.”

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that he considered the remarks to be “insulting and frankly, appalling” especially to the “loved ones of those who were killed or injured”.

However, there has been no official statement from the King’s office. Neither from any of the royal members of the family.