Prince Harry appeared to make a thinly veiled swipe at Donald Trump hours after King Charles invited him for an ‘unprecedented’ state visit.
The Duke of Sussex made a surprise appearance at the Upfront Summit in Los Angeles shortly after Keir Starmer’s critical meeting with the US president.
The royal, 40, told the audience of entrepreneurs and investors how he had been investing his money over the five years since Megxit and still approached his work ‘through the lens of service’.
But he also veered into politics and told how billions of people were experiencing the ‘detrimental effect’ when ‘basic morals and empathy are abandoned in favour of power and control’.
He continued: ‘Now this would be a great time to talk about how a sickness in leadership across sectors – from politics to tech – can have a detrimental effect on millions, if not billions, of people.
‘When service to others is sacrificed for personal gain. When basic morals and empathy are abandoned in favour of power and control. But I’m not gonna get into all that now!’
The comments came directly in the wake of Sir Keir’s White House audience with Mr Trump, during which the British premier sought to pressure him to commit to a military ‘backstop’ in Ukraine and spare the UK from tariffs.
Harry did not specify the target of his criticism and he has previously appeared to make similarly veiled criticisms of a string of other public figures.
This includes calling for ‘those with positions of influence’ to help tackle ‘misinformation’ on social media during far-right riots in the UK, which some took as an attack on Elon Musk.
Harry also used the speech to claim he had ‘never been allowed to vote’ in elections but had experienced ‘the power of serving firsthand’.
‘I’m not one to be caught in the divide between left or right views, not cornered by a belief in blue or red – hell, I’ve never even been allowed to vote!’ he said.
‘From my institutional role travelling the world to my decade of duties in the military, I saw the power of serving others firsthand.
‘My personal experiences overseas taught me that when you put others first, you build stronger, more sustainable systems. That’s true from Nigeria to Nepal, and from Sydney to Santa Barbara.’
All members of the Royal Family other than the King are allowed to vote, but traditionally do not.
Harry has repeatedly exchanged barbs with Mr Trump in the past, and earlier this month used the opening of the Invictus Games to complain about the ‘lack of weak moral character in the world ‘.
Hours before the Republican had called Meghan ‘terrible’.
Mr Trump has never hidden his dislike of the Duchess of Sussex, who supported Mr Biden and branded him ‘divisive and misogynistic’ in a 2016 interview.
He has also claimed that ‘Harry is whipped’ and ‘is being led around by his nose’.
The president’s harsh words for the self-exiled royals came in stark contrast to his comments on Sir Keir, who he hailed as ‘special’ during yesterday’s White House love-in.
At a keenly-anticipated joint press conference, the president gave a loose timeline for his efforts to negotiate with Vladimir Putin.
He also dropped hints that the UK will be spared from the worst of his tariffs, saying Sir Keir had been ‘working hard’ to convince him over lunch.
Mr Trump revealed that he hopes a ‘very good’ Transatlantic trade agreement might be done ‘quickly’ to avoid the need for levies – as he complimented Sir Keir’s accent and even his ‘impressive’ wife.
For his part Sir Keir lavished praise on Mr Trump’s efforts to bring peace, but stressed any settlement must be lasting and not favour the ‘invader’ amid continuing doubts about whether the US will offer security guarantees.
He welcomed a bust of Winston Churchill being returned to the Oval Office, and said they wanted to work together on a ‘new economic deal with advanced technology at its core’.
Pitching himself as a fellow ‘winner’ on stage with Mr Trump, Sir Keir acknowledged that they were from very different political traditions. But he said they both believed ‘it’s not the taking part that counts, it’s winning… if you don’t win, you don’t deliver’.
Harry is currently in the midst of a US court case over claims he lied about his use of drugs on a visa application.
The US President had said he would not deport the Duke of Sussex, but sources close to him later said he has ‘vowed transparency’ and will back legal action.
Anyone lying about drug use on a US visa application faces up to five years in jail, a fine or deportation.
In his 2023 memoir Spare, Harry admitted using cocaine, marijuana and magic mushrooms. If he had admitted that when arriving in the US in 2022, he would have needed a visa waiver after interview.
Washington think-tank The Heritage Foundation has been fighting to have Department of Homeland Security data released to discover if Harry told the truth and whether he got special treatment.
Judge Carl Nichols had initially ruled all documents should be kept private.
But in documents filed earlier this month, he ordered details of a secret ‘in camera’ meeting last summer between himself and lawyers for the DHS to be turned over to The Heritage Foundation.
A source told the Mail On Sunday: ‘President Trump has made it very clear that if Harry is found to have not told the truth on his visa application, then he could face prosecution.
‘If Harry answered the drugs question truthfully, that would have triggered a visa waiver process whereby he would have been interviewed and given a waiver. If that is the case, the public has a right to know.’