{"id":451369,"date":"2025-09-25T22:14:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T22:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/451369\/"},"modified":"2025-09-25T22:14:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T22:14:17","slug":"livia-firth-destroys-mbe-honor-in-protest-of-royal-familys-trump-reception","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/451369\/","title":{"rendered":"Livia Firth destroys MBE honor in protest of Royal Family\u2019s Trump reception"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"QMGKIK6DIRF3XMM7BU4KKZ5FZA\">Livia Giuggioli Firth, the Italian environmental activist and ex-wife of actor Colin Firth, has publicly protested the British Royal Family\u2019s recent reception of President Trump by destroying her MBE honor, <a href=\"https:\/\/parade.com\/news\/colin-firths-ex-wife-shreds-mbe-medal-in-protest-over-royal-familys-trump-visit-livia-giuggioli-firth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/parade.com\/news\/colin-firths-ex-wife-shreds-mbe-medal-in-protest-over-royal-familys-trump-visit-livia-giuggioli-firth\">Parade<\/a> reports. <\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"PZV6OWD45ZCHNO443ZYVABQBFE\">In a dramatic<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DO_hX5eAnTc\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;ig_rid=261acc0a-f40f-4421-b8b5-c600a2453ac5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DO_hX5eAnTc\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;ig_rid=261acc0a-f40f-4421-b8b5-c600a2453ac5\"> Instagram<\/a> video, Firth showed herself tearing up her Member of the Order of the British Empire certificate and announced plans to return the medal itself.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"4XU3PIHVG5FPVKDTG2WYEMPGJ4\">Firth received the prestigious honor in 2019 for her work improving safety in fashion supply chains for garment workers worldwide, Parade noted. However, Trump\u2019s state visit to the UK last week prompted her to reconsider accepting recognition from the monarchy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"OZPQQVKGUZERLBN4JRR5TQYIFY\">\u201cI have been reflecting on his visit to the UK last week and I am afraid I can\u2019t reconcile the way he was appeased and honored and, again, legitimized,\u201d Firth wrote in her Instagram post. She described the royal family\u2019s reception of Trump as a \u201cfrightening and cowardly display.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"Y6UIQ33A6BAXPJLM5VMCMVFAYE\">According to <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/colin-firth-ex-wife-livia-firth-dramatically-returns-mbe-over-royals-trump-ties-11817050\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/people.com\/colin-firth-ex-wife-livia-firth-dramatically-returns-mbe-over-royals-trump-ties-11817050\">PEOPLE<\/a>, while the 56-year-old activist expressed \u201cgreat respect for King Charles\u201d and his environmental advocacy, she felt she could no longer accept an honor from an institution welcoming someone she believes \u201cstands for the obliteration of the natural world and the most vulnerable people on earth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"BGSUDX6SLBFWJL7F6SLY3XFMPQ\">The protest has generated mixed reactions on social media. <\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"JYVSTWVVYBAI3M7DCCV7YQU6E4\">Some supporters praised her principled stand, while critics called her decision \u201cdisrespectful and childish.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"CC42ZWFD45EF5DRMTN5H6JF5TA\">Several commenters noted that royal protocol requires the monarchy to receive visiting heads of state regardless of personal opinions, as it is a ceremonial duty rather than a political endorsement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"JRRZAGZWEZFG7KZBUWLEAI4B24\">Others criticized what they viewed as privileged activism, with one commenter pointing out her ability to \u201cafford to tear up honors bestowed on you that others can only dream of because you have that privilege.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"O5W3NIBVFJHGFFPO4ZHF347UFM\">Firth is not the first public figure to return a British honor over political disagreements.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"ZLLFTTYXL5CQXDCVQUDVC3X6RE\">Scottish actor Alan Cumming returned his OBE in 2023 citing concerns about the British Empire, while Welsh actor Michael Sheen returned his after researching Wales\u2019 history within the UK, according to Parade.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"SJ2WUPLKGRHHTPFH3YAN7XUEHQ\">The activist, who was married to Colin Firth from 1997 to 2021 and shares two sons with him, continues her environmental work through her company Eco-Age and writes about environmental issues for Vogue magazine, Parade said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__paragraph article__paragraph--left\" id=\"XXOTVLXBEJGXNGQDPIQ3XN3OKE\">This story was written with the assistance of AI.<\/p>\n<p>If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.advancelocal.com\/advancelocalUserAgreement\/user-agreement.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.advancelocal.com\/advancelocalUserAgreement\/privacy-policy.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Livia Giuggioli Firth, the Italian environmental activist and ex-wife of actor Colin Firth, has publicly protested the British&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":451370,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7708],"tags":[17943,129734,44888,5105,7710,519,448,17944],"class_list":{"0":"post-451369","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-royals","8":"tag-bestof","9":"tag-essential","10":"tag-horizontal","11":"tag-royal","12":"tag-royal-families","13":"tag-royal-family","14":"tag-royals","15":"tag-topix"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115267244135548187","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=451369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/451370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}