Prince Harry has suffered a new blow after the Duke of Sussex and Meghan Markle issued a furious statement.
The director of a conservative think-tank has said he will urge Donald Trump to deport Harry if evidence were to emerge that the royal lied on his US immigration papers.
The comments from Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, come after Harry and Meghan’s furious statement criticising Meta for abandoning its fact-checking programme.
Gardiner told the Daily Beast the couple’s involvement in this “deeply political matter” would increase scrutiny of Harry’s immigration status.
Prince Harry suffers blow after Duke and Meghan Markle issue furious statement
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“If he was dishonest on his application, he should be deported,” Gardiner said, describing it as “a straightforward matter of transparency.”
Despite Gardiner’s strong stance, a judge ruled in September 2024 that Prince Harry’s US visa application should stay private.
In the couple’s statement on Sussex.com, Harry and Meghan accused Meta of having “no integrity” and being “deeply deceptive” in its decision to end fact-checking.
The couple claimed the social media giant was “allowing either ego or profit, likely both, to guide decisions that affect billions.”
Meghan and Harry issued a furious statement regarding Meta ending its third-party fact-checking
Sussex.com
Their statement urged “those enabling Meta’s profits” to lobby the company to change course.
The Archewell Foundation further argued that Meta’s move “directly undermines free speech.”
Gardiner, a fellow at the Heritage Foundation, called it “hugely inappropriate” for individuals using royal titles to intervene in a “hot-button political topic.”
“For members of the Royal Family to engage in such overtly political matters is, quite frankly, highly inappropriate. It goes against royal protocol,” he told The Daily Beast.
The Heritage Foundation want Prince Harry’s visa documents to be made public, Nile Gardiner told GB News
GB News
He argued that whilst the couple are no longer working royals, they continue to put their titles “front and centre” to “actively advance their causes.”
“Their use of these titles to further their personal and political agendas makes a mockery of the Royal Family’s customary neutrality,” Gardiner added.
Gardiner has been leading a legal campaign through the Heritage Foundation to have Harry’s immigration records released, following the prince’s drug use admissions in his memoir Spare.
The Foundation wanted to know if Harry either lied on his visa forms or received preferential treatment from the Biden administration.
Donald Trump could reopen an investigation into Prince Harry’s US Visa documentationReuters / Getty
“I am confident that these records will eventually be released, likely under the new US administration,” Gardiner said.
He revealed his personal connection to Trump, stating: “I met with Donald Trump on a number of occasions at the White House during his first presidency, and if I have the opportunity to meet him again I will strongly recommend the release of Harry’s immigration records.”
GB News has contacted the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for comment.