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Donald Trump said Prince Harry "betrayed the queen" and "would be on his own if it was down to me," during comments at a conservative conference.
The former president has previously said he is "not a fan" of Meghan Markle multiple times but renewed his criticisms at a time when Harry's relationship with America is in the spotlight.
The Duke of Sussex told Good Morning America he had considered getting U.S. citizenship during a February 14 interview.
And conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation was in court on Friday, February 23, attempting to force the Biden administration to release Harry's visa records to check if he lied about his drug use on immigration papers.
Trump was asked whether he would protect the prince on the fringe of the Conservative Political Action Conference [CPAC].
He told the Daily Express: "I wouldn't protect him. He betrayed the queen. That's—unforgivable. He would be on his own if it was down to me."
Prince Harry was accused of blindsiding the queen when he published his exit plans online in January 2020, a charge he has resisted.
Harry and Meghan have in fact both sought to position themselves as close to Queen Elizabeth II while a number of biographies have suggested points of tension, including over their decision to name their daughter Lilibet after her childhood, family nickname.
And on the Biden administration's treatment of Harry, Trump added: "I think they have been too gracious to him after what he has done."
The Heritage Foundation argues that Prince Harry's description of taking a variety of drugs including cocaine, cannabis, magic mushrooms and ayuhuasca in his book Spare should have barred him from entry to America if he was candid about those experiences in his immigration forms.
They want the Department of Homeland Security to release his documentation so they can see whether he was given favorable treatment or alternatively whether he lied about his past drug use.
DHS lawyers argued at court in D.C. on Friday that admissions in a memoir may not be true.
Quoted by U.K. broadsheet The Times, John Bardo, a DHS attorney, said: "Just saying something in a book doesn't make it true."
Jack Royston is Newsweek's chief royal correspondent based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
About the writer
Jack Royston is Newsweek's Chief Royal Correspondent based in London, U.K. He reports on the British royal family—including King Charles ... Read more