Prince Harry has been criticized for his “embarrassing” decision to wear British participation medals while presenting an award to a top-performing American soldier.
The Duke of Sussex, 39, wore an assortment of medals on his jacket as he named combat medic Sergeant First Class Elizabeth Marks as Military Times Soldier of the Year, including three to mark his grandmother’s various anniversaries this century.
Royal observers were quick to point out that the prince’s lapel was missing the coronation medal given to him and others involved in King Charles’ formal accession to the throne last May.
Experts believe that the lack of honor could be a slight to his father. The medals also match the medals Harry chose to wear when he attended the coronation.
However, critics on social media have now slammed Harry’s decision to wear the medals at all, calling them “participation medals” and asking: “Out of everyone in the world they chose Harry?!”
Prince Harry wore a series of medals to present a US combat medic with the Soldier of the Year award via video message
Another complained, “Didn’t we have an American veteran to do this?”
But some were quick to point out that the person being honored – Sergeant First Class Elizabeth Marks – took part in the Invictus Games in 2016. This is an international sporting event for wounded, injured and ill servicemen and women, founded by Prince Harry.
One social media user said: ‘I remember her from the Invictus Games in 2016! Very special that he presented the prize to her after all these years.’
Despite this, Prince Harry was criticized for his decision to wear British Army medals.
One person called this decision ‘shameful’ and claimed the medals looked ‘ridiculous’.
Another claimed: ‘The participation medals are a sad cry for ‘looook at meeeeeeee’.
Others defended the Duke of Sussex, pointing out that one of the medals was awarded to him for his service in Afghanistan. The others marked the late queen’s jubilee.
Harry’s medals (from left to right) include his service medal in Afghanistan and gold, diamond and platinum anniversary medals for his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
They appear to be the same medals he wore at the coronation of his father, King Charles III, in May last year
The absence of the coronation medal on Harry’s chest, reported by Newsweek And The sunsuggested to royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams that he was deliberately trying to distance himself from his old life while making the US his permanent home.
Harry was banned from attending last May’s festivities in military dress after renouncing his royal duties; that privilege is reserved for working members of the family.
Commentator Mr Fitzwilliams told Newsweek: ‘Those who qualified and were involved in the coronation received a medal.
‘The Sussexes are not doing anything by chance and this clearly emphasizes or is intended to emphasize his distance from the royal family.’
And he added to The Sun: ‘The Sussexes are acutely aware that everything they do, everything they wear, everything they say will all be scrutinized.
Four-time Invictus Games gold medalist and five-time Paralympic medalist Sergeant First Class Elizabeth Marks, 33, (pictured) suffered bilateral hip injuries while deployed to Iraq in 2010 after joining the team aged just 17
The Coronation Medal features an effigy of King Charles and Queen Camilla on the obverse (left) and the royal code, CIIIR (Charles III Rex), on the reverse
“The problem is that if he chooses not to wear the Coronation Medal, it will certainly be seen as a slight to King Charles.”
Representatives for the Duke of Sussex declined to comment when contacted by MailOnline.
The obverse of the coronation medal features an image of King Charles and Queen Camilla looking to the side, and the reverse features the king’s code, CIIIR (Charles III Rex).
In the video, Harry wore his Operational Service Medal, which he was awarded for his time in the armed forces in Helmand province.
He also wore the three anniversary medals released in honor of the gold, diamond and platinum jubilee of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
It is believed he wore the medals to show his affinity with the military, which played a key role in his early life as a senior working royal, when he was deployed to Afghanistan in 2007 and again in 2012.
Harry also chose not to wear his coronation medal when he gave a packed monologue at the Stand Up for Heroes event for US veterans last November.
Like other recent appearances by the Duke, his presentation of the Soldier of the Year award appeared to be a heavily staged performance – with Harry delivering a pre-recorded message from the back door of his Montecito mansion.
He paid tribute to Sergeant First Class Elizabeth Marks – who he described as a “friend” and a “beacon of inspiration” – as he congratulated her on the award.
Four-time Invictus Games gold medalist and five-time Paralympic medalist SFC Marks, 33, suffered bilateral hip injuries while deployed to Iraq in 2010 after joining at the age of 17.
Harry told the ceremony: ‘I first met Sergeant First Class Elizabeth Marks at the Invictus Games in Orlando 2016, where I presented her with not one, but four gold medals she had won in swimming.
“To me, she embodies the courage, resilience and determination represented in our service community. And this is not just because of her swimming abilities.
“Ellie courageously overcame every obstacle that crossed her path. She has turned her pain into purpose and guided by compassion and willpower, showing others that the impossible is indeed possible.
“Despite the injuries she suffered during her deployment as a medical assistant in Iraq – along with countless surgeries and setbacks that would have deterred many – she has persevered tirelessly to become the first woman in the Army’s world-class athlete program, but also the first swimmer the program had ever seen.
‘She has also taken her recovery a step further, using her experiences and achievements to inspire and assist others on their mental and physical journey into sport, so that those who see no way out or through can be introduced to medicine of the sport that saved her too.’
