by Former royal couple, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attended the Salute to Freedom Gala in New York City on Wednesday, November 10, ahead of the festivities. The two looked really chic as they appeared for the red carpet event, arm in arm, outside of the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum. The American actress struck a pretty pose as she donned her plunging V-neck red dress with matching stilettos while the Prince himself looked quite elegant and dapper in his navy suit, matching bowtie and a poppy on his lapel next to his medals of honour. The poppy is usually a symbol remembrance for veterans and those who served in the British army. Markle had a similar pin on the left side of the dress, a sign of respect and humility for the brave souls on the frontier.
Prince Harry was set to present Intrepid Valor Awards to five service members, veterans and military families at the gala. He had previously served in the UK army for ten years rising to the rank of captain before his retirement in 2015. During his time in the army he served in Afghanistan for two years and was a pilot at that time. After arriving to the event, the Duke of Sussex and his wife made it a point to interact with the recipients of the awards and even addressed questions and grievances about the couple’s departure from the royal family and their subsequent shifting to the United States.
Harry spoke out against people who reacted negatively to his and Meghan’s departure. He felt the coined term ‘Megxit’ is misogynistic and aimed at instigating hate speech and trolls at his wife, Markle. According to him it was created by a troll and amplified by royal correspondents and very soon got accepted as the it-word by mainstream media. He explained how the judgement and wrath Meghan has been subjected to, post their decision to quit the royal family and claims to the royal throne, was not only misguided but carefully planned and structured, by the royal family itself, to get back at them. Harry addressed the hate speech that his wife has experienced since marrying him in May 2018, pointing to the similar attacks his late mother, Princess Diana, faced.
“I know the story all too well. I lost my mother to this self-manufactured rabidness, and I don’t want to lose the mother of my children to the same thing,” he added, father of two kids, son Archie, 2, and daughter Lilibet, 5 months.
Meghan on the other hand was all proud, gushing and blushing over her husband and his list of merits. On being asked, she said, “I’m always proud of him.” The two met through a common friend and after a whirlwind romance, kept mostly out of the public eye, got married in an elaborate and grandiose fashion at St George’s Chapel in Windsor, England, in May 2018. Harry and Meghan announced their step back permanently as senior members of the royal family in January 2020 with plans to work to become financially independent. They left the British Army vet’s native U.K. for California in March 2020.
