When life gives you lemons, make luxury lemon marmalade and sell it to your celebrity friends. That’s what Meghan Markle seems to be doing anyway. Ever since their break with the royal family, the Sussexes have been struggling to find their feet – so much so that last year, Rolling Stone declared they were in their “flop era”. Still, despite setbacks, the pair are steadfastly trying to build their brands. Meghan, in particular, has been busy with her new lifestyle company, American Riviera Orchard. The brand hasn’t launched yet, but she’s been teasing its offerings by sending influencers gift baskets with fruit preserves in them.
While Meghan has had her hands full with homemade jam, her husband seems to have found himself in something of a sticky situation. The Duke of Sussex is now facing a backlash after being nominated for the Pat Tillman award for service at the 2024 ESPYs, a sports-themed awards show hosted by the cable network ESPN. The award is named after a former American football player who turned down a $3.6m contract in order to join the US army after 9/11 and was then killed by friendly fire. It’s given to “a person with a strong connection to sports who has served others in a way that echoes the legacy of [Tillman]”. Last year the award went to the training staff of the NFL team the Buffalo Bills, after they saved the life of Damar Hamlin, a player who suffered a cardiac episode on the field. This year it is due to go to Prince Harry for his work on the Invictus Games, a sports competition for wounded soldiers he is credited for founding in 2014.
The Duke of Sussex is passionate about the Invictus Games, there’s no doubt about that. But there does seem to be a huge amount of doubt about whether he really deserves this award. Tillman’s mother, Mary, certainly doesn’t think so. “I am shocked as to why they would select such a controversial and divisive individual to receive the award,” she recently told the Daily Mail. “There are individuals … doing tremendous things to assist veterans. These individuals do not have the money, resources, connections or privilege that Prince Harry has.”
Mary’s criticism of the “divisive” duke has set off a flurry of bad press on both sides of the Atlantic. Lord West, a former bigwig in the Royal Navy, has said that it is bad publicity for the duke and he should turn down the award. Pat McAfee, an American sports pundit, complained on his radio show that ESPN was “obviously trying to piss people off” by selecting Prince Harry.
Reactions to the award are so heated, there’s even a petition circulating, asking ESPN to rethink the nomination. At the time of writing, it’s had over 70,000 signatures. “Prince Harry, while a former military officer, has been involved in controversies that call into question his suitability to receive an honour of this magnitude,” the petition alleges. “He has faced accusations of endangering his squadron by publicly revealing military kills. The Prince also allegedly targeted his own father, Prince Charles, during a flyover.” That last bit is a reference to a section of Prince Harry’s memoir where he claims he sent a fighter jet to conduct a mock attack on his dad’s car as a joke. As you do.
Harry has no end of haters in the UK; almost anything he does is bound to be criticised by sections of the British press. But the fact his award nomination is getting so much backlash from Americans speaks volumes about how badly his brand is faring in his new home. The novelty of the newlyfleds, it seems, has worn off; America is growing tired of the Sussexes. And while Harry and Meghan are used to bad press by now, sources told the Telegraph that the fact this bout of criticism relates to Harry’s military record, of which he is very proud, is “a particularly bitter pill to swallow”. Still, rumour has it Meghan might be releasing a rosé wine soon. Perhaps Harry can wash it down with that.
Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist
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