Nacho Figueras has spoken out in defense of his friend after the royal faced backlash for taking part in a charity polo match 18 days after he and welcomed their first baby.
The 42-year-old Argentine polo player spoke to n Wednesday, May 29 as he defended Prince Harry for taking part in the Sentebale ISPS Handa Polo Cup charity match in Rome, which took place on Friday, May 24.
Nacho, who shut down a reporter who implied that Harry was being an absent father for attending the overseas event during an interview at the polo match, said he believes Harry and Meghan are ‘being misinterpreted in so many different ways’.
Friendship: Nacho Figueras (L) has defended Prince Harry after the royal faced criticism for leaving wife Meghan and newborn son Archie to take part in annual polo match in Rome
Concern: The 42-year-old Argentine polo player, pictured with Harry at the event, said he believes Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex are ‘being misinterpreted in so many ways’
Support: Speaking to CBS This Morning on Wednesday, he said ‘how dare’ someone criticize the new father who ‘loves his child’ for leaving his house for one day to raise money for charity
The professional polo player defended Harry when a reporter from an unnamed publication questioned him about the royal’s decision to play at the match during an interview last Friday.
Slamming any implications that Harry was being an absent parent by choosing to attend the event Nacho said he is a ‘wonderful father’ who is ‘doing just fine’.
Implying that Harry was being an absent parent, eported that the male reporter said: ‘Not many fathers go abroad within two weeks of the birth, any word on that from the mother?’
Special: Pictured alongside Meghan Markle (L) and the couple’s newborn baby Archie Harrison, the new father received criticism for leaving his family for the day 18 days after they welcomed their son
In response, Nacho said: ‘That’s an assumption that you’re making. I am a father of four and sometimes duty calls. This is 24 hours away from the house, I think he’s doing just fine.
‘He’s a wonderful father. I’m very impressed and he’s here for an amazing cause. So I think that’s a…I don’t see that as a problem,’ he added.
Speaking on the CBS This Morning, Nacho, who played on with Harry, said: ‘How dare that guy, you know, tell a father who loves his child and is leaving [his] house for 24 hours to go raise money for thousands of vulnerable children in Africa, how dare he say something like that?
‘It bothers me how these guys change the narrative of the thing and if you don’t pay attention and you don’t respond strongly, then that’s the story,’ Nacho, who was a guest at the royal couple’s wedding last May, added.
‘Oh – Prince Harry left his house right after his baby was born, how dare him leave his wife there. That’s the story line,’ he said, before adding: ‘Or, no. How dare you say that this guys is taking 24 hours off his precious time with his newborn baby to come raise money for kids.
‘That’s the headline,’ he added.
‘I think this is a problem because otherwise, you know, we’re all distracted and we’re all with our lives and looking at our phones, and you go through your Instagram or your news thing and you read “oh, this guy left his house, how dare he?”
‘And that’s what stays in your head, right? You receive the information and it’s edited in a way, and you process it that way.