Prince Edward slammed for wearing a tie covered in pictures of bullfighting

Prince Harry did it with his ‘bad taste’ Nazi costume, Princess Beatrice did it with her ‘Pretzel hat’ at William and Catherine’s wedding.

Now Prince Edward has become the latest royal to cause controversy with his choice of clothing after wearing a tie that ‘symbolises the barbaric sport’ of bullfighting – according to animal rights campaigners.

The League Against Cruel Sports, which campaigns against violent sports such as bullfighting, shooting and fox hunting, said it was ‘disappointed’ to see the Earl of Wessex wearing the tie patterned with matadors when he opened Liverpool’s new Central Library earlier this year.

Attention was drawn away from the £55million library – which had just been through a three-year  refurbishment – and to the item of clothing knotted about the neck of the eighth in line to the throne.

The offending article was spotted by several people who turned up to see the event, several of whom were not impressed the Prince’s choice of attire.

One member of the public who was at the event said: ‘It was very inappropriate for a member of the Royal family to wear a tie like that.

‘I had to look closely, I couldn’t believe he was wearing a tie with bullfighters on it.’ Bullfighting is a traditional blood sport in many countries, including Spain, Portugal, the Philippines, some Hispanic countries and the south of France.

Animal cruelty campaigners object to the suffering and killing of the bulls for entertainment purposes.
Bullfighting has been banned in many places – most recently in Catalonia, where a bill forbidding the sport came into effect in 2012.

But supporters of bullfights say it is a culturally important tradition, and movements to revoke the Catalonian ban often appear before the Spanish congress. The League Against Cruel Sports campaigns to stop bullfighting and all other cruel fiesta events involving animals.

These include the Pamplona Bull Run – when dozens of bulls are chased through the streets of the Spanish city of Pamplona – and the Toro del Fuego – a Spanish custom involving setting a bull’s horns alight and allowing it to run through the streets.