Here’s why Sen. Mike Lee criticized Prince Harry

Speaking at a Heritage Foundation event this week, Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah took a dig at Prince Harry over his past comments on American democracy. In July 2022, Harry delivered a keynote address at the United Nations in honor of Nelson Mandela International Day.

After commenting on his family's personal connection to Mandela -- including a photo of his mother Princess Diana alongside the anti-apartheid activist -- Harry talked about the "turmoil in the world," according to HuffPost. "And from the horrific war in Ukraine, to the rolling back of constitutional rights here in the United States, we are witnessing a global assault on democracy and freedom - the cause of Mandela's life," he said. According to The Daily Signal, Lee referenced the royal family during his speech at the Heritage Foundation's 50th Anniversary Leadership Summit on Thursday, which he began by praising institutions such as the "limited government, free markets (and) individual liberty" that shaped the U.S.

The report stated that Lee called out the irony behind the great-great-grandson of King George III lecturing Americans on democracy. Lee said that "echoes of King George's tyranny inspired him to run for office in the first place," according to The Daily Signal, a Heritage Foundation publication. On Twitter, Lee tweeted out a link of the HuffPost article describing Prince Harry's speech and said: "Love being lectured on democracy by an actual prince."

Harry, his wife, Meghan Markle, and their two children live in California after relinquishing their official duties in 2021. Upon his arrival in Beverly Hills the same year, Harry called the First Amendment "bonkers" when talking about paparazzi photographing his family. "I've got so much I want to say about the First Amendment as I sort of understand it, but it is bonkers," Harry said, according to Vanity Fair.

"I don't want to start going down the First Amendment route because that's a huge subject and one which I don't understand because I've only been here a short time. But, you can find a loophole in anything. You can capitalize or exploit what's not said rather than uphold what is said.

I believe we live in an age now where you've got certain elements of the media redefining to us what privacy means. There's a massive conflict of interest."

On Twitter, the Utah senator made another comment on Harry's remarks on democracy, saying, "Prince Harry prefers his ancestors' governance model." Adding, "I prefer ours."