Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are “trying too hard” to win over the public as they continue to repair their reputation in the royal fold, according to a royal public relations expert.
Expert Laura Perkes thinks that the Sussexes often “miss the mark” when it comes to damage control, and adds that “the public and the media don’t buy it.”
“Harry and Meghan have built a reputation that they’re never going to be able to run away from, therefore the media and the public are always going to have a perception of the couple and the intention behind the decisions they make,” Perkes told the Mirror.
“Sadly, a lot of what they do seems to be calculated, to give the illusion that they’re living by their organization’s tagline: leading the way with compassion, but the public and the media don’t buy it,” she said.
“They always seem to try too hard and then miss the mark.”
She continued, “It may be that they wanted to create a family tradition, taking Archie and Lilibet trick or treating, to show that they’re ‘just a normal family’ doing normal things, but to me it feels like a PR stunt in disguise. It’s the image they want to portray.”
“The reason they stepped down as working royals was to have more freedom away from the scrutiny of the media eye, yet they want their ‘normal family life’ captured by photographers, no doubt to achieve more positive publicity,” she added.
Perkes said that while Harry “has done some amazing things” with his annual Invictus Games, she believes that he now is “using these platforms to boost his own personal image and reputation.”
Calling it “sad,” Perkes said Harry has “had the opportunity to do so much more, but most people now are wary of working with the couple because of their behavior and the choices that they’ve made.”
Perkes’ comments seemingly echo that of Candace Owens, who last month said the Sussexes should pack up and move to Canada.
The conservative commentator said that Harry and Meghan’s stock has “degraded,” adding that the US and the UK have simply had enough.
“I’m a big believer that this issue can only be solved if they agree to move to Canada,” she told GB News. “I don’t think that either America or the UK should have to put up with this any longer.”
“There’s no question that their stock has degraded very quickly over time,” she added.