Meghan Markle and Prince Harry may “not be past the point of no return yet – but the door is closing fast” according to PR expert Edward Coram-James. The Duchess of Sussex, 43, -who runs her own podcast Confessions of a Female Founder – spoke to her friend Jamie Kern Lima on her podcast, The Jamie Kern Lima Show where she was interviewed for the first time since meeting Prince Harry and admitted they were “happier than ever”. The mum-of-two teared up when reading a sweet note from children Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, during the candid chat. Despite the former working royal’s latest rebrand with a Netflix show and podcast, the Sussexes popularity has continued to plummet, with polls constantly ranking them among the least favourite royals, just above Prince Andrew.
In March, a survey by YouGov painted an unfavourable view of the Sussex couple. Prince Harry‘s net favourability plunged to -31, as six in ten (61%) said they held an unfavourable view of him and just 30% a positive one. Meanwhile, Meghan emerged second to last, with 68% of negative votes and just 21% of positive ones, which brought her net score to -47. But despite their rankings, a PR expert has suggested not all hope is lost for the couple but claimed they have a lot more work to do in order to reconnect with the British public.
Edward, CEO of Go Up, has said it is possible for them to rehabilitate their image as he shared Meghan’s “true feelings”.
“Meghan claims that she’s ‘happier than ever,’ even as her standing in the UK is plummeting, something the latest polls make painfully clear,” he said in an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk. “With Prince Harry barely scraping into the top 1,500 most popular public figures and Meghan even lower at 2,034th, their star power in Britain is undeniably fading.”
Edward continued: “From her perspective, it’s a clever way to take control of her narrative. It’s quite common for public figures in similar predicaments to shine a light on a confident image when they’re being watched.
“Still, there’s no way Meghan is thrilled by these results.”
The expert suggested remaining in the “American bubble” could prove difficult for the Sussexes going forward.
He said: “They’re not past the point of no return yet, but they’re teetering close. It would take a dramatic shift if they ever hope to reconnect with the UK public.
“But that door is closing fast as long as they remain embedded in the American celebrity bubble, flashing their brand and embracing the glitz.”
Edward added: “Many in Britain already feel like outsiders playing royalty in exile. If they don’t shift course soon, they risk being remembered not as changemakers but as a cautionary tale in lost legacy.”
His comments come after the duke’s shock interview on Friday, where Prince Harry opened up about still being estranged from his family, saying his father will not speak to him but that he still has hopes for reconciliation.
Harry told BBC News: “Life is precious. I don’t know how much longer my father has, he won’t speak to me because of this security stuff. It would be nice to reconcile.”
Meanwhile, the Duchess of Sussex posted a photo of Prince Harry and their children in an apparent show of solidarity.
