King Charles was all smiles when he met Ryan Reynolds in Wrexham today – in his second public appearance since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle began waging “war” on the royal family.
The 74-year-old monarch visited the football club, which was bought by the Hollywood actor in February 2021, with the Queen Consort this afternoon.
The royal couple visited the club’s stadium to speak with co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney and learn how they have helped revitalize the Welsh town that has been the subject of the Disney+ series Welcome to Wrexham.
Despite Prince Harry and Meghan Markle dropping more bombshells on the royal family yesterday with the release of their Netflix documentary, King Charles beamed as he spoke to the A-list father-of-three.
King Charles appeared to share a joke with Hollywood A-lister Ryan Reynolds – who bought the Welsh football club in February 2021
While the monarch wrapped up warm in a double-breasted navy tweed coat, Ryan – who is married to actress Blake Lively – opted for a three-piece suit for the royal engagement.
The royal tried to block out the noise surrounding Prince Harry and Meghan’s Netflix documentary series, which landed on the streaming platform yesterday.
The pair have made a series of new hits on the royal family and Britain in their new series, which has been dubbed a transatlantic ‘TV bombshell’ against The Firm.
Episode one begins with a thinly veiled attack on Buckingham Palace’s decision not to cooperate with their six-part documentary chronicling their courtship, marriage and Megxit.
King Charles and Queen Consort visited the football to learn more about Wrexham’s recovery
Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney shook hands with King Charles on the field
As part of their $100m deal with Netflix, the privacy-conscious couple have handed over a wealth of images and videos from their relationship, including the moment Harry proposed in 2017 and filmed themselves in the VIP lounge at Heathrow when he emigrated in March 2020.
The first three episodes contain a number of barbs that will anger his father, King Charles III, including Harry’s claim that he was literally raised by a “second family” in Africa, where he chose to live for three months as a teenager spend and twenty when he came to terms with his mother’s death.
Harry also describes a “great level of unconscious bias” in the royal family – referring to Princess Michael of Kent wearing an offensive Blackamoor-style brooch in front of his wife at Buckingham Palace.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Netflix documentary was released yesterday
There’s also a hint that the UK is racist and more obsessed with race than the US, with Meghan explaining that she “wasn’t really treated like a black woman” until she came to the UK.
And in a blow to his male relatives’ choice of wives, which was seen as an attack on his father and other senior royals, perhaps even his brother William, Harry insisted that his decision to marry Meghan should keep him from his family because it is ‘from his heart’ and not because she ‘would fit the picture’.
He said his wife, who is an American actress, had “clouded” his family’s view of her – and they believed it wouldn’t last.
In the third episode of the series, author and presenter Afua Hirsh – author of the 2018 memoir Brit(ish) – described the Queen’s beloved Commonwealth as “Empire 2.0” before calling Prince Harry “anti-racist”.
Speaking of institutional racism in the UK, Afua said: “Britain has calculated that it must grant independence to these countries in a way that protects its commercial and capitalist interests. So it created this privileged club called the Commonwealth.
“The Commonwealth is still described as a club of friends who share common values. I find this language very problematic.
“I sometimes call the Commonwealth ‘Empire 2.0’ because that’s what it is.”
The Commonwealth was established in December 1931 and currently includes 54 countries. According to the Royal Family’s website, the organization’s purpose is to “promote international cooperation and trade relations between people around the world.”
The episode then tells the story of Stephen Lawrence’s murder and shows Harry speaking to him at a memorial 26 days before his and Meghan’s wedding.
Afua said the black community “really appreciated” his speech and said his and Meghan’s presence was “really significant”.
She added: “It was a direct attempt to speak about the pain that many people still feel as a result of the murder of Stephen Lawrence.
“And that has been warmly welcomed by many black communities in the UK. I’ve always perceived Prince Harry as just another senior royal, a bit racist, very ignorant.
“But I’ve watched him on this journey and seen that he really took on the training it takes for someone like him to transform into an anti-racist.”
Elsewhere in the series, author Kehinde Andrews claims that “nothing has changed” from Britain’s colonial past, save for the royal family’s “better PR”.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle also discussed Princess Michael of Kent over a Blackamoor-style brooch at a pre-Christmas event attended by the Duchess of Sussex in 2017. She had to apologize.
Harry said: “In this family, sometimes you’re part of the problem rather than part of the solution. And there is a huge amount of unconscious bias. The unconscious bias thing is actually nobody’s fault.
Meghan adds: “Obviously everyone is now aware of my race because they made it such an issue when I went to the UK. Before. I wasn’t really treated like a black woman.
In response to the bombings, Tory MP Bob Seely has argued that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex should be stripped of their royal titles.
The Isle of Wight MP said the couple had “monetized” their titles with “aggressive” and “incredible” attacks on the royal family and Britain.
Backbench Bills rarely become law, but Mr Seely said bringing the proposals to the House of Representatives was “a start”.