Megyn Kelly: Meghan Markle scared to be booed at Coronation
Prince Harry’s dramatic “downfall” following his swipes at the Royal Family in his tell-all has seen him increasingly become a “liability” to Meghan Markle’s brand, it has been claimed. The Duke of Sussex released his bombshell book in January, which saw him take aim at the Royal Family as well as a number of individuals, including King Charles III, Prince William, Princess Kate and Queen Camilla Consort. Harry also sat down for a number of television interviews in the US and UK, repeating many of the claims included in the book.
Meghan has kept a low-profile since then and last year launched her own podcast series on Spotify, with rumours also swirling she could make a jump into US politics and possibly return to acting via the glitz of Hollywood.
But one Washington-based royal commentator has sent a huge warning, telling Express.co.uk: “I suspect Meghan is very concerned about her declining brand. The reaction to Spare has been overwhelmingly negative.
“It is interesting Meghan has in no way tried to associate herself with Harry’s memoir, Spare. She has been completely away from the public spotlight.
“Meghan Markle cares about the Meghan brand image and her future career, but Harry’s downfall in the last few months has been very unhelpful to her brand. He has almost increasingly been a liability to her own brand.”
Prince Harry become ‘liability’ to Meghan’s brand, a commentator has claimed (Image: GETTY)
‘Meghan is very concerned about her declining brand’, according to Mr Gardiner (Image: GETTY)
Mr Gardiner continued: “The last few months have been an absolute PR disaster for Harry and Meghan. They have become monumentally disliked figures, both in the US and UK.
“For Meghan, this has been a disastrous time for her aspirations and the last thing she would want is to be seen to be booed on the streets of London, which would have been a reality.”
The royal commentator is referring to Meghan not attending the Coronation of King Charles III in London on May 6, instead opting to remain at home at California with the couple’s two young children – Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
He believes if the Duchess of Sussex had attended, Meghan would have feared being booed by the British public, something that would prove to be “immensely damaging to her brand”.
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Prince Harry’s book, Spare, was released in January (Image: GETTY)
Mr Gardiner believes both Meghan and Harry’s brands are in “freefall”, adding: “They both should not have been invited to the Coronation in the first place. This decision has a great deal to do with the unpopularity of Meghan in the UK.
“More than anything, the fear of being booed by the public while attending the Coronation would have been immensely damaging to her brand.
“I suspect Meghan’s spin doctors agonised over this decision for many weeks and decided this was too high-risk in terms of negative British reaction. That is the key factor here.”
He added: “All of Harry and Meghan’s brands are in freefall at a rapid pace. I’m sure they are acutely aware of that.”
Prince Harry will attend the Coronation of King Charles III without Meghan Markle (Image: GETTY)
Meghan and Harry have also been told by another expert they “really do need to top up their royal tinsel and glamour” as the Sussex brand faces a critical period following a rollercoaster few months.
Pauline Maclaran, Professor of Marketing and Consumer Research at Royal Holloway University in London, told Express.co.uk: “Harry is perhaps attending the Coronation to top up their royal connections.
“Had they not come at all, it would have been very difficult for their brand.
“Their whole brand is based on them being royals and although they have been criticising the royals, they also still want to keep their royal titles, they want their children to have them and they are not saying they want to finish with royalty.
“That being said, they are practically nothing without maintaining their royal connections.
Meghan Markle – a career timeline (Image: EXPRESS)
“They cornered themselves into quite a difficult position and this has been shown up through this Coronation invite”
Professor Maclaran further explained: “If they both go, they both risk looking very foolish if they are met with a lot of hostility and that would be very bad for their brand.
“On the other hand, if they don’t go at all, they are cutting off from the royals even though they still have their titles. They really do need to top up their royal tinsel and glamour.
“This is the ideal compromise – Harry comes and they are still reinforcing of their importance in terms of him being the son of the King.
“They are reinforcing their royal connections but limiting their reputational damage through the hostility they will face.”
