Royal expert ridicules Prince Harry, Meghan Markle for NAACP Award

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made their Hollywood debut when they accepted the President's Award at the 53rd NAACP Image Awards Show in Burbank, California on Saturday, Feb. 26.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex received the award for their commitment to public service and philanthropic contributions through their non-profit organisation Archewell Foundation. According to US Weekly, previous recipients of the President's Award were LeBron James, Rihanna, Muhammad Ali, Jay-Z, and Lauryn Hill.

Derrick Johnson, the president and CEO of the NAACP, said Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are deserving of the honour because they have "heeded the call to social justice and have joined the struggle for equity both in the U.S. and around the world." They supported the Black Lives Matter movement, the global vaccine equity, and women's equality.

The award came after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced their partnership with the NAACP to create a new annual award that will recognise people working to advance the cause of civil rights, called the NAACP-Archewell Digital Civil Rights Award. Recipients will get a $100,000 stipend.

Royal biographer Angela Levin questioned the timing of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's President's Award with their partnership with the NAACP. She wrote on Twitter, "Archewell Foundation partners with NSSCP [sic] have created new honour Digital Civil Rights Award which it seems Harry and Meghan have won." She also asked what the couple has actually done regarding civil rights and accused them of doing all talk and no walk.

"Apart from creating it someone please tell me exactly what they've done not just talked about for civil rights," Levin added.

Supporters of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex corrected the royal commentator from a false assumption that the couple won the award they created. In fact, the Digital Civil Rights Award went to Dr. Safiya Noble, whose work analyses the interaction of digital technologies with race, gender, and culture. She also won a MacArthur Fellowship or "genius grant" for her work on algorithmic discrimination.

Meanwhile, others reminded Levin that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have actually done great philanthropic work through Archwell Foundation. These include donating money to charity, aiding in world hunger, and more. A loyal supporter even posted a thread of all their humanitarian projects, which would explain why they are deserving of the NAACP's President's Award.