The Diana Award recipients, 20 total, were beyond excited when Prince Harry popped up on Zoom to deliver his speech, and it may be because they had been left waiting for quite a while, three hours to be exact, a royal commentator has claimed.
The ceremony was seven hours long and came to an end at 9pm (GMT). At that time, the winners returned to their hotel. They then reconvened at midnight to join Harry for a live streaming video call, which ran until 1am (GMT).
During the Royally Obsessed podcast, royal commentator Roberta Fiorito said: “My low of the week is The Diana Award disconnect, just the fact that Harry and William weren’t even able to be virtually in the same room.
“It is a logistical feat, but I can’t help but feel like it was a workaround so the brothers weren’t in the same room, it just makes me sad.
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“It was seven hours, William gave a speech first at the Science Museum at 7pm, and then winners returned to the hotel, and had to Zoom with Harry between midnight and 1am and the awards ended at 9pm, that just seems… crazy.”
The podcast host seems to think it was a way to keep Prince William and Prince Harry separated, avoiding overlap, even if virtual.
While the American podcast host expressed disappointment, all was not lost: “I am so thrilled for Tessy Ojo, who has been a guest on this podcast, she is the CEO of The Diana Award, and her leadership has just been remarkable to watch, and a coo to get both brothers participating.”
Harry spoke to the audience via a live video call. He thanked organizers and winners “for inspiring so many others and at the same time protecting my mother’s legacy.”
“I really appreciate that,” Harry said.
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The brothers have fallen out since Harry and his wife Meghan quit royal duties and moved to the United States in 2020.
Harry has alleged that the British media treated him and Meghan as villains compared with virtuous William and Kate, and accused palace officials of lying to protect his elder brother.
William, who is heir to the throne, has kept silent in public about the rift.
Last month Harry flew to London to visit his father King Charles III after the monarch was diagnosed with cancer. He did not meet William during the 24-hour flying visit.
Daily Express US reached out to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s nonprofit organisation Archewell for comment.
