Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s recent attempts at reconciliation with the royal family may hold deeper strategic motives beyond simply mending ties, royal commentators have suggested.
Last month, a quiet meeting was observed in London near Clarence House, where Meredith Maines, the Duke of Sussex‘s chief communications officer, and Liam Maguire, his UK PR lead, were seen chatting with Tobyn Andreae, the King’s communications secretary.
This “secret peace summit” has been labelled by insiders as a “first step” in thawing long-frozen relations between the Sussexes and the Firm.
However, not all are convinced the aim was purely reconciliation. Royal commentator Samara Gill suggested the couple may be vying for a renewed royal role with a modern twist.
She said, “Though it wasn’t that long ago, so it’s kind of crazy now that they’re trying to share diary slots and trying to figure out how he can kind of get back in with the royal fold, because Queen Elizabeth II did say, ‘you can’t have it both ways, you can’t be one foot in, one foot out royals. I don’t want that.’”
“They need to choose. I just don’t agree with this hybrid situation. They’re like typical millennial royals who want to do, like, gig economy jobs in the royal family or something. It’s a very confused strategy. And I do agree that they’ve got a better team who’s clearly trying to fashion something out of this, but I just think it’s a very confused, dilapidated thing and I don’t see it going anywhere,” added Gill.
In June, Harry and Meghan overhauled their PR team, replacing key members across the UK and US.
Jack Royston, Newsweek’s royal correspondent, commented, “I think the reason behind it is fundamentally because Harry had a clear-out, and Meghan had a clear-out of their PR team on both sides of the Atlantic.”
“They brought new people in who have come with new energy and a real determination to move the dial in terms of public opinion, move the dial in terms of media coverage of the Sussexes, and, that comes with it, move the dial in terms of the relationship with the palace,” added Royston.