Prince Harry and Meghan Markle drew attention to their emotional gesture during their highly publicized visit to Australia.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex never fail to make headlines as their every move attracts attention from the media and social media users alike.
Meghan and Harry, who are no longer working royals, have been accused of exploiting sick children during their hospital visit to Melbourne, with the couple’s trip also being dubbed ‘pseudo-royal’.
The Californian husband and wife sparked a fresh firestorm shortly after they landed in the country where Harry’s parents, King Charles III and his late ex-wife, Princess Diana, visited together in 1985.
Prince Archi and Princess Lilibet’s parents became emotional when they met the children. They posed with “visibly sick” children at the Royal Children’s Hospital.
But their action has been criticized as a media opportunity as cameras and phones caught the Sussexes posing with the youngsters, giving hugs and taking selfies.
As usual, the couple’s critics began to judge their move soon after clips and photos went viral, calling it a publicity stunt, with one of them calling the move “performative nonsense”.
Harry, 41, and Markle, 44, chose a venue with a lot of royal history to mark their first appearance in Australia since their 2018 tour as royal newlyweds.
The now private citizens visited the hospital, which the prince’s late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, first visited in 1963. She returned in 2011 with her husband, Prince Philip, to officially open the hospital on its current site.
The Sussexes visited the facility as private citizens after leaving the royal family in 2020.
However, critics criticized them for allegedly using the children as “props”. One user wrote: “Really sickening to put all those babies, some with compromised immune systems, in the room for a photo shoot.”
Another replied: “I am at a loss for words. The Royal Children’s Hospital is a very dear place in the hearts of Victorians. I am disgusted that they used this place for a PR stunt!”
One went on to accuse Theom of hypocrisy, saying: “So their own children are too important for anyone to have seen their faces but these poor children are fine to be used as props. Totally disgusting.”
