Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Epitomize Everything Wrong With 'Woke Culture,' Cieo Director Claims

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle perfectly outlined what is wrong with "woke culture," a leading academic has claimed.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been using their platform to promote causes dear to their heart and have worked to help those in need through their foundation Archewell after quitting royal duties and moving to California. But while their endeavors have garnered praise, Joanna Williams, the founder and director of British think tank Cieo, has a different opinion when it comes to Prince Harry and Markle's actions.

Williams — who taught at the University of Kent for a decade and served as the director of Kent's Centre for the Study of Higher Education — told Express that Prince Harry's actions were a perfect example of all the things "wrong with woke" and that he was "playing the victim card at every possible opportunity."

"What Meghan and Harry do that's so useful is that they just absolutely verbalize what the zeitgeist is, unintentionally revealing the consequences of a lot of these kinds of woke ideas," the author of "Women vs Femnism" told the outlet.

Williams, who is also head of education and culture at Policy Exchange, noted that the couple "are the absolute epitome of privilege," especially Prince Harry, whom she said "has had all kinds of doors opened for him" and "has lived a life of incredible privilege."

Despite these, she claimed that Prince Harry "manages to play the victim card at every available opportunity and thinks that his victim status, whether it's through mental health or through racism by proxy because of his relationship to Meghan, allows him to preach to the rest of us," referring to the couple's March interview with Oprah Winfrey and the duke's recent appearances on the "Armchair Expert" podcast and "The Me You Can't See."

Prince Harry and Markle had received flak in 2019 for taking four private flights in 11 days. The duke also used a private jet when he attended the Google Summit on the climate crisis in Sicily.

Williams claimed that the stark contrast in what the Sussexes say and what they do "epitomizes everything that's wrong with woke culture."

She suggested that "wokeism" appears "incredibly radical, almost revolutionary" but in reality "lets exactly the same privilege (sic) people keep their huge privileges while preaching to everyone else about how they should behave and speak to other people."

On the other hand, royal expert Marlene Koenig, author of "Queen Victoria's Descendants," acknowledged the couple's recent efforts, noting that they have proven "they do want to help people."

"They have been helping, they just gave things to a women's shelter in L.A.," she told Express of the Sussexes. "Archewell is also working with José Andrés, the Washington, D.C.-based chef with World Central Kitchen - I trust him enough to pick people he associates with helpful groups."

It was announced last year that Archewell partnered with World Central Kitchen to build relief centers that will feed people in disaster-stricken areas.

Aside from Archewell's charity projects, Prince Harry also recently pledged to donate the proceeds of his upcoming memoir, which is set to be released globally via Penguin Random House in 2022, the BBC reported.

Meanwhile, Markle is working on an animated TV series, which has the working title "Pearl," for Netflix. It will follow the adventures of a 12-year-old girl who is inspired by influential women throughout history.

The duchess has teamed up with filmmaker David Furnish for the project. The latter is known for his work on "Rocketman," a movie about his husband Elton John's life.