Prince Harry’s Secret Wreath Tribute Sparks Royal Backlash and Accusations of Hypocrisy
By Sage Matthews
If you thought the royal family drama had cooled off, congratulations—you were catastrophically wrong. Of course it’s back, and of course Prince Harry is somehow both at the center of it and trying to look like he’s above it all.
Last week, during a solemn VJ Day commemoration marking 80 years since Japan’s surrender in World War II, Prince Harry decided to honor his late grandfather, Prince Philip, from afar. Instead of attending the ceremony in person, he sent a close friend to lay a wreath and deliver a handwritten letter on his behalf at the Burma Star Memorial in Staffordshire, England.
The gesture was meant to be respectful—Harry specifically requested that the tribute be placed only after King Charles and Queen Camilla had left the event. But as with most things involving the Duke of Sussex these days, the optics were… questionable, to put it generously.
Palace insiders reportedly weren’t impressed. One source told the Daily Mail that Harry’s actions came across as “hypocritical,” especially considering the emotional toll his and Meghan Markle’s Oprah interview took on Prince Philip in his final year. That infamous sit-down aired just four weeks before Philip’s death in 2021, and was followed by a string of lucrative projects—including his memoir *Spare* and a Netflix docuseries—that many within the palace still view as betrayal.
And while Harry waxed poetic about his grandfather’s service in the Pacific campaign aboard HMS Whelp during the war, critics are pointing out that this isn’t exactly the first time he’s tried to polish his tarnished image with sentimental gestures. His letter, signed with the official “H” under a crown cypher, praised the “courage and endurance” of the veterans—but not everyone found it sincere.
Even more awkward? The fact that working royals like William and Kate didn’t leave wreaths themselves, supposedly out of deference to the king and queen. So when Harry inserted himself into the narrative through proxy, it looked less like heartfelt remembrance and more like an attempt to upstage the current monarchy during a national moment of reflection.
Because nothing says “I’m committed to reconciliation” like sneaking your name into a memorial service behind your family’s back.
Let’s not forget, Harry has military experience and knows how symbolism works. He wasn’t just honoring veterans—he was positioning himself as one of them, subtly aligning his own service record with the legacy of those he was paying tribute to. It was a masterclass in soft power—if anyone actually believed him.
But here’s the thing: no one really trusts PR stunts anymore, least of all the British public or the royal inner circle. And if there’s one lesson we should’ve learned by now, it’s that every move Harry makes is scrutinized twice—once for what he does, and once for what it implies about his relationship with the rest of the Firm.
This wasn’t just tone-deaf; it was textbook self-sabotage. And yet, here we are, talking about it. So maybe, in some twisted way, it worked.
Anyway, can’t wait to see how this gets worse.
Sources: Celebrity Storm and Daily Mail, New York Post
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