Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's recent trip to Nigeria was a "great success" in highlighting the "necessary fact" of their dwindling status, it has been claimed.
Speaking to GBN America, Lee Cohen said the Duke and Duchess of Sussex embarking on a "quasi royal tour" of the African nation proves they "no longer occupy the status that they stepped back from".
The royal couple spent three days in Nigeria after being invited by the country's highest-ranking military official, Christopher Musa.
The Sussexes championed their Archewell Foundation's mental health initiatives for young people and promoted Harry's beloved endeavour the Invictus Games, which Nigeria joined for the first time last year.
Lee Cohen says Prince Harry and Meghan's Nigeria tour highlighted a 'necessary fact'
Getty / GBNA
In a discussion with host Nana Akua, Cohen claimed that the tour "made clear a very necessary and often misunderstood fact", particularly for their American fanbase, that they have now become "celebrities" instead of royals.
Cohen explained: "Among my countrymen on this side of the Atlantic, they see that Harry and Meghan no longer occupy the status that they stepped back from.
"They have become mere celebrities and media influencers rather than statesmen, which is what they're trying to portray."
Sharing his thoughts on the latest rebrand for the Sussexes, Cohen noted that the couple are "changing up their brand again" and criticised Meghan for "selling jam" as part of her new lifestyle project, American Riviera Orchard.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have completed their three-day visit to Nigeria
Getty
Cohen told GBN America: "They're grasping for any sort of lost status that they themselves chose to give up back in 2020."
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The US royal commentator continued: "I believe that the Sussexes are casting about for any relevance, and they keep changing so many things - are any of these things really working?
"Now they've taken this opportunity to go on a quasi-royal tour in representation not of any nation, but in representation of their favourite subject, themselves."
Nana then admitted the trip felt "nostalgic" of a royal tour that they could have carried out as working royals.
Turning the discussion to Prince Harry's visa troubles in the US, Cohen claimed that the Biden administration are "attempting to cover up" the issue, as they feel "sympathetic" towards the Duke.
Lee Cohen says the Sussexes are 'grasping for any sort of lost status'
GBNA
Cohen fumed: "Either Prince Harry didn't disclose his extensive drug use on his visa, or the Biden administration gave him special treatment as a person of privilege.
"Something stinks about this and the US think tank, The Heritage Foundation and Nile Gardner over there is doing exceptional work of keeping shining the light on this on behalf of the American people, because this is an issue that affects us all.
"And it's terribly disrespectful to immigrants who come to the United States in the legal way and do everything the proper way, and don't seek special treatment or special waivers or anything like that."
