KEY POINTS

  • Prince Harry was caught on camera making his way to the archery games with a filming crew
  • Several netizens criticized the Duke of Sussex because they felt that he was stealing the spotlight
  • Fans defended Prince Harry and said that they were filming the event for a charitable cause

Prince Harry received an intense backlash for bringing filming cameras to the Invictus Games.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived in the Netherlands last week for the fifth Invictus Games. Matt Wilkinson, the royal correspondent at The Sun, shared a clip of Prince Harry making his way to the archery games without his wife, Meghan Markle. A lot of people were with him, and some were holding cameras to film the event.

"Prince Harry arriving for archery at Invictus Games without Meghan. Quite an entourage though," Wilkinson wrote in the caption.

Several netizens were not pleased with the sight. Many disapproved of the duke with cameras in tow because, for them, the event should highlight the veterans and not Prince Harry, who founded the event in 2014. Some also mocked him because he previously talked about the emotional toll of living in the spotlight.

"Wait a minute! Isn't this what triggers him?" one netizen commented on the video with laughing emojis before quoting Prince Harry's previous statement, "'Every click of a camera takes me right back.' So in his seeking privacy, escaping media & camera clicks he pays for nonstop PR & drags Netflix crew around for a living."

"This is what H and M have turned the games into Kardashians template. They haven’t done or created anything original. Nothing in the years they have been together. Beating old horses," a second user opined.

"Yeah, surrounded by Netflix camera crew. Don't make it appear as if he was doing anything noble, it's self-serving as is their usual," a third critic added with a face with rolling eyes emoji.

"Embarrassing. It's supposed to be about the veterans not Harry's fragile, little ego," a fourth user wrote.

While many were quick to criticize the royal couple, several also defended Prince Harry and Markle. The Sussex fans remained supportive of the royal couple.

"That 'Netflix Camera Crew' are Oscar and BAFTA-winning documentary filmmaking team Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara are making a documentary series on the lives of Invictus athletes, the proceeds of which are going to The Invictus Games Foundation," one replied.

"#SussexSquad Let's go!! A week of Invictus Games. We focus on veterans and we support Harry who created these games to support and help injured veterans," another added.

"Go to Invictus website you will see that Archewell is paying for the production and all proceeds go to Invictus charity, no, you will not do that because of the jealous, bitterness in your heart will not let you see the good Harry is doing," a different user wrote, addressing the Sussex critics.

The Invictus Games will run through April 22.

The queen's grandson Prince Harry has said he will not attend but is due to go to his Invictus Games for disabled veterans in the Netherlands
The queen's grandson Prince Harry has said he will not attend but is due to go to his Invictus Games for disabled veterans in the Netherlands GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA via AFP / John Lamparski