Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were criticised for encouraging Americans to vote in the US elections, because members of the Royal Family are supposed to remain neutral on political matters. After Americans went to the polls yesterday, the counting has been much slower than general elections in the UK and it is still not confirmed who has won the presidential election, or which party has gained control of the Senate and House of Representatives. In the months leading up to the election, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex used their significant public presence to encourage Americans to vote.
They did not express a partisan preference for either presidential candidate, but it is widely believed they privately support Democratic nominee Joe Biden over incumbent US President Donald Trump.
They have been criticised for what some view as wading too much into politics, but it has emerged that the Queen has actually encouraged people to vote in UK elections in the past.
In 2003, the monarch encouraged the public to vote after a low voter turnout in Wales.
During a visit to the Welsh Assembly, she said: “It is vital to the health both of the UK and of Wales that our democratic institutions flourish and adapt.
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Queen Elizabeth encouraged people to vote after low turnout election (Image: GETTY)
Joe Biden and Donald Trump went head to head for the presidency (Image: GETTY)
“I share your concerns that we must encourage all our people to exercise their right to vote.
“This is a real challenge before us all.”
The Queen was opening the second term of the Welsh Assembly at the time, whose members were elected by just 38 percent of the electorate.
Voicing her concern about the low turnout, she said that the challenge facing all politicians was to persuade people to use their vote.
Meghan and Harry encouraged Americans to vote in the election (Image: YouTube (The Royal Family Channel))
She added that the Assembly must be given time to settle, but it was already making its mark.
She declared a “continuing interest” in the Assembly’s work and the “essential role it increasingly plays” in decisions affecting the people of Wales.
Yet, when Meghan used her voice to encourage people ‒ especially women ‒ to vote in her home country of the US, where she and Prince Harry now live, she received a large amount of criticism.
The Queen and Meghan are not the only two who have ever commented on politics either.
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Queen and Charles at the Welsh Assembly in 2003 (left); the Welsh Assembly chamber (Image: GETTY)
Last year, Prince William asked sheep farmers if they were concerned about Brexit during a visit to the Lake District last year.
In June 2019, William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge met with local farmers at Deepdale Hall Farm to learn about the challenges they face within their community.
According to ITV royal editor Chris Ship, William asked the farmers: “Is Brexit a big concern?”
One farmer replied: “I was very surprised that farmers voted for Brexit, to be honest.
“It was like turkeys voting for Christmas.”
Then there are the infamous black spider memos that Prince Charles sent to Tony Blair and senior ministers in 2004 and 2004 in which he wrote about issues close to his heart.
The letters, published in 2015 after a long legal battle with The Guardian, tended to focus on agricultural and rural issues.
In one letter, the prince said more should be done to encourage the public to purchase beef from British farmers.
He also encouraged the Prime Minister to put pressure on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to decrease the bureaucratic burdens farmers were subjected to.
This year, Meghan spoke about the importance of voting with feminist icon Gloria Steinem.
In a clip from the pair’s “backyard chat”, Ms Steinem said: “If you don’t vote, you don’t exist. It’s the only place where we’re all equal, the voting booth.”
