Americans are dividing into Team Cambridge and Team Sussex amid tensions between royal brothers Prince William and Prince Harry.
Prince Harry and wife Meghan will arrive in New York on Tuesday in the wake of the release of a trailer for a Netflix show documenting their lives.
The trailer landed as Prince William and wife Kate were in the United States on a visit.
But royal watchers say the brothers have no plans to meet, while some of the most prominent figures in the US are choosing between “Team Cambridge or Team Sussex”, reports the Daily Mirror.
The Kennedys, often regarded as the closest America has to a royal family, have been divided in a fight billed as “a battle of the philanthropic galas”.
President John F. Kennedy’s grandson, Jack Schlossberg, 29, teamed up with the Prince and Princess of Wales to honour his grandfather’s legacy with five recipients of the Earthshot Prize at the JFK Library Foundation on Friday night.
Meanwhile, Robert F. Kennedy’s daughter, Kerry, is set to honour Harry and Meghan with the Ripple of Hope Award in New York, which she claimed was being given in a nod to the Sussexes challenging the Royal Family’s power structure.
In an interview, the 63-year-old said of the couple: “They went to the oldest institution in UK history and told them what they were doing wrong, that they couldn’t have structural racism within the institution.”
New Yorker and royal watcher Dee Ashcroft, 47, is said to be firmly in the Team Cambridge camp.
The real estate broker initially “adored” Meghan’s arrival into the royal fold, but was left “angered and embarrassed” by her and Harry’s actions.
She said: “The Sussexes’ first mistake was disrespecting the Queen, who was and still is deeply loved in the States. The second was the Oprah interview.”
The divide between camps is said to be generational, with millennials leaning more towards Harry and Meghan and their well-publicised stand against alleged racism in royal circles.
William and Kate’s arrival in Boston was overshadowed by the race row involving comments from his godmother Lady Susan Hussey.
New Yorker fashion stylist James Jeffries, 37, is backing the Sussexes. He said: “To take on such a powerful organisation as they have, for me, as a person of colour, is incredible.
“I think for many people of colour, it is difficult to look beyond Meghan.
“She has raised awareness around what was a very secretive family and, at the same time, been supported by Harry. He has been incredibly courageous in standing up for what is right.”
A well-placed royal source said: “It’s not bad to receive an accolade, but it illustrates the fundamental difference between the Cambridges who have constitutional roles and are working on behalf of others versus being a celebrity. Both appear to hold different values.”
