Prince Harry and Meghan Markle 'trying to look more philanthropic' after suffering setback

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle 'trying to look more philanthropic' after suffering setback

Reuters
Dorothy Reddin

By Dorothy Reddin


Published: 31/08/2024

- 11:00

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have recently returned to the US from Colombia

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are "trying to look more philanthropic" after suffering a setback, a royal author has exclusively told GB News.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have recently returned to the US from Colombia, the couple's second quasi-royal tour in just three months.


Gareth Russell, a royal commentator, spoke exclusively to GB News about why the couple may be embarking on so many foreign visits, despite no longer being working royals.

He claimed there was a "catalyst" between 2021 and 2022 which caused many people to feel "oversaturation" with the Sussexes.

Prince Harry and Meghan MarklePrince Harry and Meghan Markle 'trying to look more philanthropic' after suffering setbackReuters

Russell said: “For many people, the interviews that the Sussexes gave came very close to each other.

“There was really a point at which they were everywhere you looked; there was a Netflix special, there was a book, there were sit-down interviews.

“Also, many people felt uncomfortable at the timing of the release of the Oprah Winfrey interview when the Duke of Edinburgh was unwell, or the release of Spare in which details of private conversations held in the immediate aftermath of family funerals were included.

“A lot of people felt that the interviews were questionable, whether in terms of content, timing or frequency.

Duchess of Sussex speaks with Colombia's Vice President Francia MarquezColombia's VP said she had invited the couple after watching their controversial Netflix documentaryReuters

“So people reached a point at which there was almost oversaturation with the Sussexes.

“And the other point, I think, which the Sussexes are now looking like they're trying to correct, is there was a sense that they had a huge global platform.

“Initially their primary focus seemed to be discussing their family and criticising how they perceived they had been treated by the Royal Family, whereas a lot of people had expected them to launch themselves into charity work right away, and that didn't happen.

“It certainly didn't happen on the scale people expected, and the tours that they're now undertaking are part of a policy of trying to look more philanthropic and trying to focus more on external matters.

Prince William and Princess KatePrincess Kate and Prince William on tour in Jamaica in 2022PA

“They got to the stage where every time the Duke of Sussex was interviewed there was a slight dig at his family.

“Even when discussing things like the press or Invictus, there was a sense that it was the same complaint over and over again, and people hoped that the Sussexes had moved on and found the happiness that they were seeking in America.”

Russell added: “They're not very interesting. You have to remember that the tours did not garner anywhere like the amount of public attention that they and we might have expected.

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“They're not something the public seemed really interested in.

“When the Oprah Winfrey interview came out, the coverage was wall-to-wall and broadly sympathetic.

“And everything since that coverage has been slightly less sympathetic and slightly less convinced.”

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