Colin Firth’s ex-wife, fashion campaigner Livia Giuggioli, has handed back her MBE in retaliation against what she calls the royal family’s appeasement of Donald Trump during his state visit.
The 56-year-old, who was married to Firth for 22 years until 2019, dubbed the US president a “horrible excuse of a human” as she handed back her medal for services to the fashion industry.
Giuggioli said King Charles and state officials put on a “frightening and cowardly display of appeasing someone who stands for the obliteration of the natural world and the most vulnerable people on earth”.
She added: “Because I can’t reconcile those two positions, I have shredded my honour and I am returning it to sender.
“I know so many honourable, decent British people who will be unable to reconcile their deeply held values of fairness and justice with the grotesque pantomime we witnessed.”
Trump was welcomed to the UK on a two-day state visit last week with a horse drawn carriage and an “unprecedented” military guard welcome involving 120 horses and 1,300 members of the British military.
The lavish ceremonies laid on for Trump, including an extravagant white-tie state banquet, have been widely criticised as out of touch with the realities of the nation’s austerity.
Giuggioli was first awarded her MBE in 2019 for her campaign work to make the fashion supply chain a fairer place to work across the world.
Her “Green Carpet Challenge” was a fixture of awards season in 2010s, during which time she dressed stars from Meryl Streep to Emma Watson in ethically made gowns.
The fashion campaigner founded her company Eco-Age alongside Firth in 2007, which advises brands on the state of their supply chains, raw materials and factories.
Giuggioli and Firth announced their separation after 22 years of marriage in 2019. The couple first met on the set of the BBC drama Nostromo in 1996 and married in Tuscany one year later.
The pair have two sons together, Luca and Matteo, and Firth has another child from a previous marriage.
Firth and Giuggioli previously split in 2015 after the businesswoman admitted to having an affair with journalist Marco Brancaccia. The affair went public when Giuggoli accused Brancaccia of stalking her.
Brancaccia was accused of “harassing” Giuggioli with threatening texts and calls. However, the charges were later dropped and a private settlement was reached between the pair.
Firth and Giuggioli’s separation was announced by their publicist, who said the pair “maintain a close friendship and remain united in the love for their children”.
