Prince Harry ESPY protested by 50,000 as public ‘alienated’ by ‘lingering’ remarks
EXCLUSIVE: Harry has been collecting awards left and right, and it's being suggested he's doing this for personal gain.
Prince Harry’s latest award is a reminder of the public’s ill will toward him, says one royal expert. Harry is scheduled to receive the Pat Tillman Award for Service, which has been very upsetting for the late veteran’s mother, Mary Tillman, and members of the public.
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Mrs Tillman expressed her disbelief with the decision, saying there are individuals who are “far more fitting,” which prompted a petition asking ESPN to revisit the decision. We reached out to Pauline Maclaran, author of Royal Fever: The British Monarchy in Consumer Culture and Professor of Marketing and Consumer Research at Royal Holloway, University of London, to ask why so many people are still upset with Harry, with the academic sharing her thoughts on the matter
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Professor Maclaran said: “I think people have stopped discussing the Netflix documentary and book to a certain extent but the ramifications of these linger on.” She added: “There was a fairly widespread sense that these had damaged the monarchy and given Queen Elizabeth II an unnecessarily hard time in the final years of her life.” “Take Harry’s latest award from ESPN, for example, for the Pat Tillman Sports award for veterans and the petition circulating with over 50,000 signatures in protest at this award.”
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Mrs Tillman expressed her disbelief when learning Harry would be one of the recipients, which is named after her late son who was killed in Afghanistan in 2004, saying in a recent nterview: “There are recipients that are far more fitting. There are individuals working in the veteran community that are doing tremendous things to assist veterans.” She added: “These individuals do not have the money, resources, connections, or privilege that Prince Harry has. I feel that those types of individuals should be recognised.”
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It seemed like things were quieting down when it came to Harry, at the least, talk of his past transgressions, but he may never be able to get away from this, suggests Professor Maclaran. She said: “This has meant that the couple are still very unpopular, especially in the UK.”
“So there is no feeling of a wider forgiveness on the part of the public and the couple are still widely criticised whenever they appear or are mentioned.” “I think this tells us that his previous actions still alienate many of the public.”
