It’s certainly not surprising that the new US first couple and Prince Harry are on friendly terms, but what is surprising is, arguably, the fact that a nice old picture of the Duke of Sussex took pride of place in Wednesday’s inauguration footage.
This detail was noticed by attentive TV viewers as they closely followed the live broadcast from their homes, unable to visit the event in person due to coronavirus-induced strict social distancing rules.
PrinceHarry was at Biden,s inauguration 👉👉👉👉👉👉👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/MWG4FKyVBL
— Diane MD (@OurHealthMD) January 21, 2021
"A blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo by a royal at President Biden’s #InaugurationDay visit to Arlington Cemetery. Well, kinda", royal expert Omid Scobie tweeted.
"Love this. Great to see Prince Harry’s presence", a second posted, with others following suit.
The big photo of the Duke could be seen in the background when the cameras focused on the moment when the new US president was being greeted by the Clintons.
The 2013 photo showed Harry, in a full military uniform, laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, during a royal visit in 2013.
The cemetery was also visited, keeping with tradition, by the new first couple and their predecessors after the swearing-in ceremony in Washington, DC.
Biden’s swearing-in was definitely personal for Harry, Hollywood Life reported.
“Harry’s been friends with Joe and [wife] Jill [Biden] for years and Meghan has a huge amount of respect and admiration for them and for Kamala Harris,” a source told the edition.
In 2013, Harry, who was on a royal visit to the US, reportedly established a warm and friendly relationship with Joe and Jill Biden, vice president and second lady at the time, although they are said to have first met a year earlier.
How Harry's Invictus Games Began
It is in their company that he attended a reception for British and American wounded warriors in Washington, also going to see the Warrior Games, focusing on how sports save lives and help physically challenged people.
Harry is believed to have drawn inspiration for his Invictus Games from the event.
The first adaptive multi-sport games, Prince Harry’s brainchild, were held in 2014, and Jill went to London, the host city, in September 2014 to attend the event and support Harry.
They reportedly spent a lot of time together during the visit, with Joe dropping a joke later when he joined his wife to attend the 2016 games in Orlando:
"Jill went to London for the last Games. She spent too much damn time with Prince Harry!”
The newly-minted first couple also attended the 2017 Canadian games, when Harry first appeared in public with his then-girlfriend Meghan Markle.
Ex-Royals Have Their Say
Now that the Sussexes have formally quit their senior royal roles and moved away from the UK, in a bid to lead independent lives and do “something that matters”, they have been quite outspoken on a variety of issues, including the latest election.
In September, two months before the US polls on 3 November, the couple, who has now settled in their new Santa Barbara home, urged voters to cast their ballots.
Although the Duke was as a British citizen not allowed to vote in the US election, he came up with a motivating speech via a video link calling to “reject hate speech, misinformation and online negativity”. His wife similarly spoke about the 2020 race, dubbing it the “most important of our lifetime”.
Fundamentally wrong for Meghan and Harry to get involved in the US presidential election. Extremely unhelpful, and disrespectful towards the Queen and Royal Family. https://t.co/yyGUoZf6BE
— Nile Gardiner (@NileGardiner) September 24, 2020
This appeal to US voters marked a break with a royal protocol that obliges members of the Royal Family to appear politically neutral.
Meghan is even thought to have become the first royal in recent history to vote, having reportedly cast her ballot by mail.
