Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were slammed by a royal commentator over their PR strategy which is “pursued” to prove to the public and the industry that they are “liked”.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been criticised by a royal commentator after they attended the prestigious ESPY Awards last week.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex appeared at the glitzy award bash in LA last Thursday, where Harry received the Pat Tillman Award for Service, awarded by sports channel ESPN to individuals in the sporting world who have made significant contributions to the lives of others.

But Harry’s nomination was met by a furious backlash, with a petition, counting just below 77,000 signatures, being set up urging the awards organisers to rethink their decision. Mary Tillman – the mother of Pat, who is a former NFL player and US Army Ranger who was killed in Afghanistan in 2004 and who the awards are named after – saying she was was “shocked” at Harry’s nomination when there “are recipients that are far more fitting”.

Now royal commentator Kinsey Schofield has touched down on the Sussexes’ attendance at the awards and blasted their PR strategy which she said is pursued by their “own egos” to “tell the public and industry that they are liked”.

Speaking on her Youtube programme, Kinsey Schofield Unfiltered, she said: “Everyone is Meghan Markle, who would have never received this type of recognition had she not married a prince. These awards are very strategic pursuits by their agents and publicists and own egos to tell the public and industry that they are liked.”