Following his $1.5 million (£1.1 million) donation to a children’s charity, which sparked a very contentious internet discussion, Prince Harry has been vigorously defended.
As the charity’s patron for more than 15 years, the Duke of Sussex, who resigned from his position as a working senior royal alongside his wife, Meghan Markle, back in 2020, made his much-awaited return to the United Kingdom on Monday, September 8, to speak at the WellChild awards ceremony in London.
Harry hugged one of the young people participating on the next day (9 September) of his UK tour, which included going to Nottingham’s Community Recording Studio, a project sponsored by BBC Children in Need, where he praised a rap performance.
Later, he gave £1.1 million of his own money to the Children in Need project, which helps youth impacted by violence. He told the gathering: “Nottingham has been a place where I’ve heard harrowing stories, learned important lessons, seen resilience, and felt truly inspired.”
Harry continued: “The challenges remain serious and sadly aren’t getting any easier. “Violence impacting young people, particularly knife crime, continues to devastate lives, cut futures short, and leave families in grief.”
Additionally, he took the time to commend the city’s efforts to address issues like “food poverty, racism, and educational inequality.”
“Changemakers in the city continue their mission to create safe spaces… and offer hope and belonging to young people who need it most,” Harry stated of the donation, which, as we all know, came from his own money rather than his Archewell organization.
But it didn’t take long for the anti-Harry and Meghan crowd to launch a full-scale attack on Harry’s kind donation.
Prince Harry has made a personal donation of £1.1m to a UK children’s charity. Harry said he hoped it would help “changemakers in the city continue their mission to create safe spaces”, but critics are calling it a charm offensive.
Do you think this donation is genuine?… pic.twitter.com/VXiXuDo8c2
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) September 10, 2025
Piers Morgan, a staunch critic of the couple who has a long history of blasting them on social media, seethed on X: “Prince Harry giving £1.1 million to charity on his UK ‘charm offensive’ is a comically crude attempt to buy back British people’s support. But ironically it won’t work because he’s spent years being so offensive about the Royal Family.”
A second X user agreed: “Throwing £1.1 million at charity after years of sniping at the family is like trying to clean a muddy window with a used rag. It’s a nice gesture, but good luck changing the view.”
“Why put it out there… just do it. Obviously it’s been put out there to make him look good,” declared a third while a fourth critic fumed: “Not genuine! He is trying to buy his way back into the UK & The Royal Family. He realises things have moved on & he is now irrelevant.”
However, countless others defended the Duke against such comments, with one X user writing: “Yes, it is genuine because it is personal.” Would you be congratulating Prince William or wondering if he did the same thing?
“Did the charity get the £1.1 million? If so then yes it’s genuine, if not then no it’s not. Happy to help!” quipped a second while a third lamented: “Yes I think it’s genuine !!!!! My god, he’s dammed if he does and dammed if he doesn’t!”
A fourth pointed out: “if it helps kids have safer spaces, that’s a step in the right direction. Just hope the charm doesn’t drown out the real impact. What do you reckon?”
