Defiant' Meghan poses like a CEO with 'dour' Harry in new portraits

The Sussex ‘power-couple’: ‘Defiant’ Meghan poses like a CEO with ‘dour’ Harry at her side in new photos as they re-establish brand as an ‘alternative royal family’ in response to Palace’s ‘new Fab Four’ picture, say experts

New photos released of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during their pseudo royal tour before Queen’s death
The new images come days after the publication of an official picture of the King, Camilla, William and Kate
Sussexes are shown attending the One Young World summit for youth leaders in Manchester last month
The images were taken by celebrity photographer Misan Harriman – a close friend of the Sussexes

New portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are an attempt to make them look a ‘power couple’ amid turmoil in the Royal Family and were deliberately released soon after Buckingham Palace published an image of the new ‘Fab Four’: King Charles, Queen Consort Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales, experts told MailOnline today.

Body language guru Judi James says Meghan looks like a CEO in one of the images while Harry looks ‘dour’ and adopts a pose ‘you might see on Dancing on Ice as someone leads their partner out’.

While royal experts predict the portraits are bad news for the Windsors, predicting the Sussexes wanted to show ‘they are not going to let go of their attempts to be seen as an alternative royal family’.

The photographs were taken by celebrity photographer Misan Harriman, director of the Southbank Centre and a close friend of the couple who was one of the few people invited to Lilibet’s Windsor first birthday party in June.

The couple are shown attending the One Young World summit for youth leaders in Manchester last month. The first image shows Meghan in a red blouse and matching trousers with a chunky gold ring and earrings. The duchess stands face on, looking into the camera and holding one of Harry’s fingers. The duke stands behind her at an angle, smiling in a smart black suit and tie.

The stance is reminiscent of the couple’s 2021 Time magazine photo shoot, in which Meghan stood in the centre and Harry stood at an angle behind her with a hand resting on her shoulder.

In the second image, taken ‘just moments’ before the opening ceremony of the summit, the couple are standing next to one each other, side-on to the camera, holding hands and looking out at the audience.

Body language expert Judi James told MailOnline that the new portraits aim to show the Sussexes as a ‘power couple’ and ‘defiant’ on their return to the UK.

In a trend repeated in many pictures released by the couple, Harry is behind Meghan in a show of ‘support’. The Duchess is dressed and poses like a CEO – and her husband looks ‘dour’ behind her amid tensions with his family.

Hand in hand: Harry and Meghan in the newly-released photos taken last month. The couple are shown attending the One Young World summit for youth leaders in Manchester. Judi James said Harry adopts a pose ‘you might see on Dancing on Ice as someone leads their partner out’

This week’s official photo of the Royal Family’s ‘New Fab Four’

The pictures were shot by their long-time friend and photographer Misan Harriman, who has shot to fame for his pictures of Black Lives Matter protests in London.

He also takes some credit for helping Harry and Meghan meet, saying: ‘Meg reminded me that had I not introduced her to a mutual friend then she wouldn’t have met Harry. I’m grateful for whatever small part I played.’

The 45-year-old, who lives in Surrey, met Meghan years ago at a charity event and attended her wedding to Prince Harry at Windsor Castle in May 2018.

He has previously taken photos of other royals, capturing Princess Beatrice’s official engagement photo with her then-fiancé Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.

He was the first black male photographer to shoot a British Vogue cover and the first to shoot its September issue in its 105-year history.

The activist-themed cover in 2020 featured England footballer Marcus Rashford and model Adwoa Aboah, with Mr Harriman working with a predominantly black team on set.

A year before, Meghan guest edited the September issue, which is traditionally the fashion bible’s most important of the year. Mr Harriman’s work has also featured in Vanity Fair, GQ, Harpers Bazaar and People.

The Nigerian-born photographer has pictured Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, Cate Blanchett and Olivia Colman, Rihanna, Stormzy and Giorgio Armani.

He is a self-described activist supporting diversity and inclusion in the workplace, as well as a mental health campaigner with an interest in dyslexia.

The photographer has also covered demonstrations against former US President Donald Trump, and protests by Extinction Rebellion and Black Lives Matter in London.

Ms James said: ‘Proud, defiant and apparently inspired, Harry and Meghan seem to re-define the term ‘Power couple’ with this black and white shot. They ignore the camera here, with their eyes fixed on a more distant horizon. Their entwined fingers in their hand clasp lets us know they’re going ahead together although Harry’s rather dour expression is in contrast to Meghan’s optimistic and confident part-smile.

‘It’s Meghan to the front of the shot in the red outfit, standing leg-splayed confident and with a CEO-style part-smile. Harry’s pose is one you might see on Dancing on Ice as someone leads their partner out, with an index-finger only hold here. His smile looks like a direct nod of pride to the camera.

‘The signals of status and defiance could be a reference to their more low-key and lowered-status appearances in the UK recently. It suggests challenge and confidence and the hand clasp with the entwined fingers signal they will face all of that together.

‘Meghan is at the forefront of these poses but it was her conference. She looks the more dynamic though, with Harry’s focus on her as he seems to stand behind her slightly in a role of support’.

Royal experts have said that the timing of the release is significant – and could be a hint that a PR blitz is coming ahead of the release of Harry’s memoirs and their Netflix show.

Author and investigative journalist Tom Bower, who wrote a recent biography of Meghan Markle, said: ‘Now back in California, the Sussexes have clearly decided to go for broke.

‘These photos are the beginning of their renewed campaign to launch Harry’s book, the Netflix series and other lucrative appearances to re-establish their brand.

‘In the end, Meghan’s sight is fixed on maximising her income and nothing will get in her way. Without any sympathy for Charles and the Royal family, they are now set on promoting themselves and earn their living.

‘I expect more critical interviews and Podcasts showing an uncompromising attitude towards the Royal Family’.

Another leading royal journalist predicts the portraits ‘don’t bode well for the near future’.

Phil Dampier said: ‘There is no doubt Harry and Meghan released these photos in direct response to the picture of the new King and Queen together with the Prince And Princess of Wales.

‘The timing is so obvious. In the photos they are trying to look royal and important with Harry wearing a smart suit and Meghan an understated outfit.

‘And the use of a black and white photo is an old trick dating back to the days of President Kennedy with pictures taken at the White House. Black and white is somehow more serious and statesmanlike in certain situations.

‘The overall impression is of Harry and Meghan setting up a rival court. And this doesn’t bode well for the near future.

‘We are told that Harry wants to tone down his book and the Netflix documentary on the couple out of respect for the late Queen.

‘But this tends to indicate they are not going to let go of their attempts to be seen as an alternative royal family.

‘Harry and Meghan are still waiting for the King to confirm titles for their children Archie and Lilibet.

‘Maybe this is their way of turning the screw and saying : “We haven’t gone away – when are you going to honour our kids?”.’

The pictures of the Sussexes were taken by celebrity photographer Misan Harriman, director of the Southbank Centre and a friend of the couple who has taken photos of celebrities including Rihanna, Stormzy, Tom Cruise and Giorgio Armani.

He posted them online last night – days after the release of an official portrait of the so-called ‘New Fab Four’: King Charles, the Queen Consort and the Prince and Princess of Wales. The phrase ‘Fab Four’ was once used to refer to William, Harry, Kate and Meghan.

Mr Harriman, Lilibet’s photographer, with one of his children in face paint in the Frogmore Cottage garden in June

In this picture from June, Lilibet is seen in her mother Meghan’s arms inside Frogmore, beside photographer Misan Harriman’s wife Camilla Holmstroem and their two daughters

Not so long ago, it was Princes William and Harry together with their wives who had been dubbed the ‘Fab Four’ – carrying great hopes for the future of the Royal Family. The four are pictured together on September 10

Following the Sussexes’ departure from Britain and the Queen’s death last month, the picture stressed that Charles, William and their wives will be the new core of the Royal Family moving forward.

Meghan Markle hires fact-checker for her Spotify podcast series Archetypes

Meghan Markle has hired a fact-checker for her much-anticipated Spotify podcast series, Archetypes.

Her poise and passion in front of a camera or microphone are surely unequalled in royal history. But these gifts haven’t blinded the Duchess of Sussex to the fact that she, like the rest of mankind, is fallible.

The Daily Mail’s Richard Eden can reveal that Meghan has been employing a ‘fact-checker’ for Archetypes, which resumes today, having been suspended immediately after the Queen’s death.

Meghan hasn’t chosen a run-of-the-mill recruit but a young and highly talented American writer, Nicole Pasulka, whose interests closely mirror her own.

A fact-checker could cut through the confusion which has occasionally — and unfortunately — followed some of Meghan’s statements.

For example, in an interview with American magazine The Cut, she recalled chatting to a South African cast member of The Lion King at the film’s 2019 London premiere.

‘He said: ‘I just need you to know: When you married into this family, we rejoiced in the streets the same we did when Mandela was freed from prison,’ ‘ Meghan recalled.

Yet Dr John Kani, the only South African cast member, has pointed out that he has never met Meghan and wasn’t at the premiere.

Of course, as the late Queen memorably put it on another occasion, ‘recollections may vary’.

The pictures of Harry and Meghan overshadowed images of the King and the Queen Consort’s successful first public visit since the end of the Royal mourning period.

Charles and Camilla were met with large crowds as they undertook one of the late Queen’s last wishes and conferred city status on Dunfermline in Scotland.

There is no suggestion the Sussexes deliberately timed the release of their images in an attempt to eclipse the King’s visit. But is illustrative of the fact that since they moved to the US, they have not coordinated their activities with those of other members of the Royal Family, resulting in several clashes.

One Young World hosts an annual summit for young leaders to ‘be inspired, share learnings, and connect’ as well as ‘raise the bar for what it is possible to achieve as leaders, individually and collectively’. Meghan gave a speech at the opening ceremony of the event in Manchester.

Addressing the 2,000-strong crowd, with representatives from 190 countries, she said it was ‘nice to be back in the UK’ and described the delegates as ‘the future, but also the present, driving the positive and necessary change needed across the globe’.

Harry and Meghan’s new photos came as the first official portrait of King Charles with Queen Consort Camilla was being studied with affection and fascination all over the world.

By their side stands the Prince of Wales, his eldest son and heir – clearly a good deal taller than Charles – and the newly appointed Princess of Wales, his wife.

The photograph is brimming with symbolism of course: the new sovereign is pictured with his son and heir, while looming behind them is a glowering portrait of King George III, the longest-reigning male monarch in British history.

But what is perhaps even more remarkable is that the picture was taken on the eve of the Queen’s funeral, when our four most senior royals were about to host a huge reception for visiting Heads of State, including US President Joe Biden, at Buckingham Palace.

The message, if one was needed, was clear: the business of monarchy never rests, even at times of great personal sorrow, and its enduring strength lies in its continuity.

However it is also a reminder that the royals are always on duty – even when they have to summon every inch of self-control, as they did during the public grieving for the Queen who for them was a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother as well as the monarch.

The photo also serves as a not-so-subtle nod to the King’s wishes for a slimmed-down monarchy: one he believes will be more relevant and more resilient.

The unspoken elephant in the room is the absence of the King’s younger son, Harry.

Three years ago, the Sussexes would have had every expectation to be part of this family ensemble.

In fact, only four years ago, there was just such a photograph issued to mark the then-Prince of Wales’s 70th birthday.

But, within months, the unity and happiness that radiated from that image had vanished.

Analysts allege it is surely can no coincidence that the picture was taken when the couple were still in Britain and several days before they returned home to their children Archie and Lilibet.

It must, therefore, be yet another signal that they will never again return to their central role in royal life.

Palace sources said that the picture had been taken to mark a ‘historic moment’ for the family. But there was more than just history on display here. The body language of all four is surprisingly relaxed. It speaks of warmth and acceptance. Harry and Meghan are pictured at Westminster Hall on September 14

Prince Harry, Prince William, then-Prince Charles, and Sir David Attenborough attend the ‘Our Planet’ global premiere at the Natural History Museum on April 4, 2019 in London, England

Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan have ditched the glitzy public relations firm that has represented the former-actress since her days on legal drama Suits.

The couple have ditched New York-based public relations outfit Sunshine Sachs sources confirmed to Richard Eden on Friday.

‘This is a really big deal for Meghan,’ the insider alleged. ‘She takes the view that she doesn’t need to pay an outside firm a lot of money to do PR for her and Harry any more.’

Sunshine Sachs’ partner Keleigh Thomas Morgan played a key role in establishing the Sussexes in California, sharing her contacts and a powerful network of advisers and famous friends.

Keleigh, 45, was a long-term friend of Meghan’s and helped devise the strategy for the couple’s African tour in 2019, when they were still working members of the Royal Family.

She was also a guest at the royal wedding and has represented American actor Tyler Perry, whose Los Angeles mansion Harry and Meghan used as a base while house-hunting.

But from now on the publicity for the couple’s numerous ventures is being handled ‘in-house’ at their charitable foundation, Archewell, by former Silicon Valley bigwig Christine Schirmer, who’s head of communications.

Toya Holness, who was appointed as ‘global press secretary’ in March 2021, was reported to have parted company with the Sussexes earlier this year.

Schirmer should certainly be kept busy. Not only does Meghan’s series of podcasts for audio giant Spotify resume broadcasting next week, but the couple have a string of big projects in the pipeline including Harry’s highly controversial autobiography and a reality television show for U.S. streaming firm Netflix.

Last week, the Mail on Sunday revealed that Harry had launched an 11th-hour bid to alter his memoir amid fears it would be seen as insensitive after the Queen’s death, which saw a public outpouring of support for the Royal Family.

The picture that tells Harry and Meghan there’s no way back: The first official portrait of King Charles with Queen Consort Camilla – alongside William and Kate – carries an air of finality, writes RICHARD KAY

By Richard Kay for the Daily Mail

All over the world yesterday, the first official portrait of King Charles with Queen Consort Camilla was being studied with affection and fascination.

Affection because rarely has Charles looked so at ease in a formal photograph, and fascination because with William and Kate, the new Prince and Princess of Wales, at his side, we have a glimpse of the present and future of the monarchy.

Observers will search for clues about everything from its composition and backdrop to what it tells us about the long-term security not only of the Royal Family but, more pertinently, of the institution that they represent.

The message, if one was needed, was clear: the business of monarchy never rests, even at times of great personal sorrow, and its enduring strength lies in its continuity.

Palace sources said that the picture had been taken to mark a ‘historic moment’ for the family. But there was more than just history on display here.

The body language of all four is surprisingly relaxed. It speaks of warmth and acceptance. The taller William and Kate may physically dominate, but the eye is drawn to the new King, a pace closer to the camera, and wearing an easy confidence.

For once, those cuff-tugging mannerisms and general fidgeting so familiar from any number of ceremonial portraits are absent.

One hand rests comfortably behind Camilla’s back while the other is casually thrust into his jacket pocket.

But it is the hint of a smile on his face that is the most telling. It is the look of a man who is not daunted by what lies ahead – but rather is invigorated by it.

There is another significant factor here too. And it is a not-so-subtle nod to his wishes for a slimmed-down monarchy: one he believes will be more relevant and more resilient. Some will wonder if this is not just slimming down, but cutting to the bone. The unspoken elephant in the room is the absence of the King’s younger son.

Three years ago, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan would have had every expectation to be part of this family ensemble.

Indeed, only four years ago, there was just such a photograph issued to mark the then-Prince of Wales’s 70th birthday.

But, within months, the unity and happiness that radiated from that image had vanished.

So it is not difficult to imagine how this picture will be viewed in sunny California, where the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are based. Might it deepen their feelings of exclusion and exile, or will it merely serve to remind them why they chose to break from the family in the first place?

It surely can be no coincidence that the picture was taken when the couple were still in Britain and several days before they returned home to their children Archie and Lilibet. It must, therefore, be yet another signal that they will never again return to their central role in royal life.

Might it deepen their feelings of exclusion and exile, or will it merely serve to remind them why they chose to break from the family in the first place?

One reason that they chose to walk away in the first place was because they did not wish to share the spotlight.

In America, they are at the centre of their own production. But in Britain, there is a new royal order – and it revolves around four people, not six.

There is a finality about this photo that suggests there is no way back for a couple who could have been at the epicentre of royalty, but are now at its margins.

Is it the dagger to their hearts it was for Prince Andrew when he was first excluded from the Palace balcony? It certainly feels like it.

Over the years the Queen often curated the photographs around her when she spoke to the nation for her Christmas message. She did so in 2019, when on her desk were pictures of her own father and Charles, but also William and Prince George. Here, it said, was monarchy past, present and future. The omission of Harry was said to have contributed to his break from the family just weeks later.

Rather than photographs, King Charles commandeered the art on the walls of his new palace home for this image – and he selected carefully. Choosing as backdrop a king who reigned for 60 years was another nod to the permanence – and preservation – of monarchy.

It is a lesson Prince Harry could do well to study, because every royal picture tells a story.

Why Harry snubbed William’s offer of a secret summit to heal their rift: In a bombshell TV interview, Harry said he and his brother were on ‘different paths’. William was blindsided, but when he suggested a crisis meeting, the response was heartbreaking

In the final extract from his riveting new book on how the Sussexes’ relationship with palace staff deteriorated, VALENTINE LOW recalls the impact of the couple’s shocking TV interviews — and examines the truth behind their claims . . .

The first intimation that Meghan might be a victim — as well as a possibly rather difficult employer and sister-in-law — came in an ITV documentary.

Filmed in a garden in Johannesburg, during the Sussexes’s 2019 tour of South Africa, she’d spoken to presenter Tom Bradby about how she’d struggled with life in the spotlight, both as a newlywed and as a new mother. He’d then asked her what the impact of all that pressure had been on her physical and mental health.

Looking vulnerable, almost as though she was trying to hold back tears, Meghan said she’d found it hard, and added: ‘Thank you for asking, because not many people have asked if I’m OK. But it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes.’

A preview of Bradby’s documentary was screened for the media while William and Kate were on a tour of Pakistan that October. And, inevitably, the resulting coverage, with its headlines of ‘Meghan: My Struggles’, overshadowed coverage of the last day of the Cambridges’ tour.

VALENTINE LOW: Prince Harry snubbed William’s offer of a secret summit to heal their rift (pictured standing during the unveiling of a statue they commissioned of their mother Diana in 2021)

William and Kate’s team was not happy, it seems, and saw it as a deliberate attempt to knock the couple out of the headlines. Relations between the two households became quite tense.

The documentary had also shown not only Meghan’s evident pain but also how far Harry and William had drifted apart.

Asked by Bradby about the rift between him and William, Harry had chosen not to deny it, but said instead: ‘We are certainly on different paths at the moment . . . As brothers, you know, you have good days, you have bad days.’

William, home after the Pakistan tour, appears to have been taken aback at such a stark portrayal of his brother and sister-in-law’s unhappiness. He realised they were in crisis.

The first intimation that Meghan might be a victim — as well as a possibly rather difficult employer and sister-in-law — came in an ITV documentary. Pictured: Meghan in An African Journey with Tom Bradby

The day after the documentary aired, William WhatsApped his brother to ask if he could come and see him. This put Harry and Meghan into a spin. What should they do?

Initially, Harry was in favour. Then he spoke to his brother again, and asked him whom he would tell.

William explained that he’d have to clear his schedule, which would mean telling his private secretary. At that point, Harry told him: Don’t come.

He was so concerned that William’s team would leak the visit to the Press that he would rather not see his brother than risk it getting into the papers. To everyone who knew what was going on, this was heartbreaking.

It highlighted the dysfunction at the heart of so many royal relationships, and how members of the Royal Family so rarely pick up the phone to speak to each other directly. Instead, they communicate via the apparatus around them. And the result is mistrust and division.

In her interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, Meghan would discuss her mental fragility at greater length.

In her interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, Meghan would discuss her mental fragility at greater length

She talked about the pressure she’d felt from online abuse and the critical media coverage, pressure that she once described in a podcast as ‘almost unsurvivable’. Watching her talk about her pain, and describe how she did not want to live any more, is an uncomfortable experience.

Most people would think such an expression of despair could be rooted only in truth. And yet a succession of decent people, all of whom had believed in Meghan and wanted to make her position work, came to be so disillusioned that they began to suspect that even her most heartfelt pleas for help were part of a deliberate strategy that had one end in sight — her departure. Perhaps, they say, nothing the palace could do was ever going to be good enough.

‘She was looking for examples of us failing her from the beginning,’ believes one former staffer. ‘We were having to prove that the institution would bend over backwards to make her happy.

‘It felt like that wasn’t what she wanted, but that she wanted to be rejected.’

The feeling among like-minded staff was that Meghan wanted to leave a trail of evidence behind, so that when the time came for the couple to leave the monarchy, she would be able to say: ‘Look how they failed to support me. They left me with no choice but to leave.’

Crucially, it was the Queen who took the view that unless they were prepared to abide by the restrictions that applied to working members of the Royal Family, they couldn’t be allowed to carry out part-time official duties. Meghan and The Queen are pictured in 2018

Some staff saw the problem as inextricably linked with the couple’s fury about some of the press coverage, which they felt was sexist and even racist.

It also stung that Meghan had been dubbed Duchess Difficult because of the high staff turnover in their household.

As one source put it: ‘The way I see it, their view of not getting institutional support was that they were not getting permission to blow up the [royal] institution’s relationships with the media.’

Others suspected that, in the end, Meghan wanted to make money for herself. And the only way she could do that was by leaving behind her royal life in the UK and returning to America.

Too cynical? Perhaps. But the sad truth is that the relationships between Meghan and her advisers were in such a sorry state that this is what they genuinely believed.

Some argue that she never really wanted to be accepted by the Royal Family. That may be true.

But it’s also true that if the institution had tried harder, and if she’d been more willing to adapt herself to palace life, she could have been one of the Royal Family’s greatest assets.

The documentary had also shown not only Meghan’s evident pain but also how far Harry and William had drifted apart

The idea that she wanted to be rejected is challenged by her lawyers, Schillings.

Instead, they say she had a ‘clear desire to fit in’.

‘She left her country, career and life in North America to commit herself fully to her new role and made every effort to honour that commitment.’

If the danger signs were there from the beginning, so were the warnings.

The Sussexes’ private secretary Sam Cohen told two key courtiers — the private secretaries to both Prince Charles and the Queen — that if it all went wrong with Harry and Meghan, the palace needed evidence of the duty of care the institution had shown them.

The ‘duty of care’ was crucial: ‘[Sam] was a broken record with them on that,’ said a source.

By the time Meghan gave her interview to Oprah Winfrey, however, the palace had lost the argument over duty of care.

It also stung that Meghan had been dubbed Duchess Difficult because of the high staff turnover in their household

The duchess had hijacked the narrative by making it all about her mental health, which meant everything the palace had done to support the couple — including giving them a team who’d have done anything to help them succeed — was simply forgotten.

Instead, the duchess was able to point out all the times that the organisation had failed her.

One of them was when she went to the palace’s head of HR in January 2019, saying she needed to get help with her mental health issues. She was given a sympathetic hearing but sent on her way, as was inevitable: HR is there to deal with employee issues, not members of the Royal Family.

Meghan would presumably have known that, so what was she doing there in the first place? Laying a trail of evidence would be the cynical answer. So desperate that she did not know where to turn would be the more charitable interpretation.

In the Oprah interview, Meghan also made the startling claim that she went to one of the ‘most senior people,’ saying she needed to go somewhere to get help — only to be told it wouldn’t be ‘good for the institution’.

It is a strange thought: would anyone really say that to a pregnant woman?

Until one hears from the other person in the room, it’s difficult to know what to make of this.

However, the truth remains that Meghan appears to have been in a bad place. And Harry knew she was suffering.

Yet when Oprah asked why he didn’t go to his own family to say his wife needed help, he said: ‘I guess I was ashamed of admitting it to them.’

We can all understand such feelings of shame: mental health can be hard to talk about.

However, there is also something not quite right here.

Since 2016, Harry had devoted much of his energy to Heads Together, a campaign he had launched with William and Kate to try to persuade people to overcome the stigma surrounding mental health.

Years before, he’d decided to seek help himself after suffering his own mental crisis. Could he not have helped his wife do likewise?

And if he couldn’t, he must have met scores of people through Heads Together who could have offered help and support. As one well-informed source said: ‘He would have known exactly where to turn, who to call, what to do.’

Elsewhere in the Oprah interview, Meghan talked warmly of Julia Samuel, the psychotherapist who had been a friend of Princess Diana and remained close to Harry. She had, Meghan said, ‘continued to be a friend and confidante’. Julia Samuel would also, presumably, have been an ideal person for the couple to go to for help.

VALENTINE LOW recalls the impact of the couple’s shocking TV interviews — and examines the truth behind their claims. Pictured: The ‘Fab Four’ on September 10

Analysing Meghan’s interview with Oprah is a complicated business, because some of it simply isn’t true. That doesn’t mean, however, that all of it isn’t true.

One of the moments that is glaringly misleading is when Meghan tells Oprah: ‘When I joined that family, that was the last time . . . that I saw my passport, my driver’s licence, my keys. All that gets turned over. I didn’t see any of that any more.’

In the first six months of her marriage, there had been foreign holidays in Italy, Canada and Amsterdam, to say nothing of the couple’s honeymoon. Then in 2019, Meghan visited Ibiza, France, Italy and New York (twice). It would have been a challenge to do all those trips without a passport.

I’m not going to go through every example in the interview of statements that are untrue, or misleading, such as her claim that they actually got married three days before their wedding. It’s instructive, however, to look at one of Meghan’s central claims: that the palace was not doing enough to stand up for her.

She told Oprah: ‘Not only was I not being protected . . . they were willing to lie to protect other members of the family, but they weren’t willing to tell the truth to protect me and my husband.’

The overriding issue that concerned her was a newspaper story about Kate crying after a bridesmaid’s dress fitting for Princess Charlotte that took place before the wedding.

‘The narrative with Kate — which didn’t happen — was really, really difficult,’ Meghan told Oprah. ‘I think that’s when everything changed, really.’

However, the truth remains that Meghan appears to have been in a bad place. And Harry knew she was suffering (Harry and William pictured in 2018)

The truth is that, after the dress fitting, Meghan had become obsessed with trying to persuade the palace press office to put something out denying the story.

However, they were equally adamant that it would be a serious mistake to start briefing about personal stories relating to differences between members of the Royal Family.

Not only did they not want to brief against other royals, but they feared it would create a precedent, making it harder in future for them to avoid commenting on personal tittle-tattle.

It would also fan the flames of the story, ensuring it continued to fill the pages of the newspapers for several days to come.

This became a major point of contention between Meghan and her media advisers.

On Oprah, Meghan went further than denying the Kate-in-tears story, however. Instead, she said, the reverse had happened.

‘She was upset about something pertaining [to] flower-girl dresses, and it made me cry, and it really hurt my feelings.’

It was not an attractive performance: Meghan had spent months complaining about how her reputation had been smeared in the Press, and now she was doing the same to Kate, who quite clearly was never going to respond.

The story of Kate’s tears was not the first time Meghan had tried to persuade the press office to brief journalists about an issue that was bothering her. The other concerned the departure of a member of staff, whose settlement deal contained a non-disclosure agreement.

Despite the employee being legally obliged to remain silent, the Sussexes — who say they didn’t know about the non-disclosure agreement — repeatedly tried to get their communications secretary Jason Knauf to brief journalists about what Meghan saw as the reason behind the employee’s departure.

Knauf refused, because he disagreed with Meghan’s interpretation of events. He also thought briefing against the individual was wrong.

Looking back on the saga of Harry and Meghan’s rift with the Royal Family, there are still questions to be asked.

Were the senior courtiers in the royal institution — Prince Charles’s private secretary Clive Alderton; and the Queen’s, Edward Young — unaware of Meghan and Harry’s deepening unhappiness?

Or were they burying their heads in the sand? Did they let their personal dislike of Meghan prevent them from seeing the very obvious dangers that lay ahead?

Looking back on the saga of Harry and Meghan’s rift with the Royal Family, there are still questions to be asked

One former palace insider believes the way the developing crisis was handled was ‘incompetent beyond belief’.

‘I think Meghan thought she was going to be the Beyoncé of the UK,’ said the insider. ‘Being part of the Royal Family would give her that kudos.

‘What she discovered was that there were so many rules that were so ridiculous, she couldn’t even do the things she could have done as a private individual . . .

‘It required the decision-makers to sit around a table and say: ‘OK, what are we going to do about this? What do you need to feel better? And what can we give?’

The situation wasn’t helped by Harry and Meghan’s deteriorating relationship with both Young and Alderton.

Meghan apparently saw the Queen’s private secretary as ‘an inflexible, bureaucratic figure’ and Harry was just as dismissive of the two senior courtiers as she was.

So another view is nothing could have saved the situation. The two sides were just too far apart.

But the Sussexes wanted their freedom to make money AND to dip their toes into U.S. politics. There was no way to reach an agreement on that point (picture 2021)

But the Sussexes wanted their freedom to make money AND to dip their toes into U.S. politics. There was no way to reach an agreement on that point.

There is one final thought on this, from a surprising source: perhaps the Sussexes’ departure from the country and the Royal Family was not the untrammelled disaster so many think it was.

One courtier, who knows Harry and remains upset about what he and Meghan did, said: ‘Part of me thinks Meghan did Harry the greatest kindness anyone could do, which was to take him out of the Royal Family, because he was desperately unhappy in the last couple of years of his working life.

‘We knew he was unhappy, but we didn’t really know what the solution would be. She came along and found the solution.’

Adapted by Corinna Honan from Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind The Crown, by Valentine Low, to be published by Headline on Thursday at £20. © Valentine Low 2022. To order a copy for £18 (offer valid to 15/10/22; UK P&P free on orders over £20), visit mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937.

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