Tim Hortons Torched for Tone-Deaf Handout to Prince Harry & Meghan Markle

• Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are stepping back from their roles within the British Royal Family.
• The Tim Hortons social media account tried to bribe them to settle in Canada.
• The tone-deaf tweet incurred substantial backlash.

The British Royal Family kicked off 2020 much the same way they left 2019: In disarray.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle caused shockwaves when they announced they were stepping back as senior members of the Royal Family Wednesday.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will now:

balance [their] time between the United Kingdom and North America” and “work to become financially independent.

The announcement likely wouldn’t have gone down well with the Queen, especially in the aftermath of Prince Andrew’s car-crash interview about Jeffrey Epstein .

But it’s not all bad news.

“Free Coffee for Life” for Prince Harry & Meghan Markle

With a media frenzy erupting after the announcement, the Duke and Duchess received an unlikely offer from Tim Hortons.

In a post to Twitter, Canada’s largest fast-food chain offered them “free coffee for life” if they moved to Canada.

The Duke and Duchess are yet to respond to the generous offer. But considering their recent environmental activism, it could be a while until they respond to one of Canada’s top plastic polluters. 

In contrast, Timmies has received plenty of feedback from customers – and a lot of them aren’t happy.

Tim Hortons Under Fire

A number of people on Twitter took offense to the Tim Hortons tweet.

One person questioned how the restaurant chain could afford limitless free coffee for royalty, but not a 10-cent per hour wage increase  for their own employees in Winnipeg.

Other tweets bashed the restaurant chain along similar lines.

Some users even took swipes at Harry and Meghan, with one person calling on Tim Hortons to give the couple jobs  so they can “see how real people live.”

Taking a step back from the anger, it’s likely that Tim Hortons had harmonious intentions. They likely picked up on the intense news story and attempted to provide some levity by making a humorous offer to the Royals.

But in the process, Timmies overlooked how their own employees would react, many of whom earn between $12.76 to $14.45 per hour. 

About the Author

Laurence Watt

Laurence is a journalist based in Canada who covers markets. He has experience working for multiple news media outlets, including as a news editor and associate producer for radio. He doesn't have many followers on Twitter, but you can change that by checking him out here. You can also reach him via email at [email protected]

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