Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have faced criticism over a “suspicious” outing near their Cotswolds home, after paparazzi pictures showed the couple enjoying a pub lunch together. The photos, obtained by Page Six, show the Duke and Duchess of Sussex walking hand-in-hand to the pub, both wearing sunglasses, with Harry in a thin puffer jacket and jeans and Meghan in a long-sleeved black top.
Pub Lunch Details
According to the publication, Meghan ordered a gluten-free beer-battered haddock and chips with mushy peas and tartare sauce, while Harry opted for a chicken, ham and leek pie with seasonal greens, mash and gravy.
Since the appearance, the royal couple has come under fire from Australian news presenter Gabriella Power. News24 claimed the outing “sparked fresh suspicion”, with Power telling viewers: “Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been spotted enjoying a pub meal in the Cotswolds.”
Reaction and Analysis
Power added: “Joining us now is the Royal Observer associate editor, Josh Rom, bringing us all the royal news. We’ve of course seen the pictures in Page Six. Some say they look a bit staged, that’s some of the criticism that I am seeing online about this. What can you tell us about the outing, how people are reacting to it?”
Rom explained: “It’s interesting, because of course when there is this media vacuum created by a lack of public appearance from Meghan Markle, of course all of these deranged conspiracy theories online then start.”
He continued: “This was a good time for the Duchess of Sussex to prove the naysayers wrong - all the speculation, will she go back to the US, is she going to take Archie and Lilibet with her? No, this is very much Prince Harry and Meghan Markle proving that actually, no, they’re very much settled here in the UK. They’re exploring the local vicinity near their home in the Cotswolds area.”
Paparazzi Questions
Rom noted: “One thing I couldn’t help but notice from the paparazzi pictures is just how picturesque everything looked. It looked like a beautiful Sunday afternoon, it was reported they were having average pub lunch meals, spending a nice Sunday afternoon together on a stroll in the local town. Very much going to show that actually Prince Harry in particular feels very much back at home.”
He added: “I was doing my research, I watched a little bit of the Harry and Meghan documentary earlier, and it struck me that even amongst that stage of their lives, the chatter about how angry Harry was at the institution at the time, the one thing he said is, ‘I miss the UK, I miss elements of my life there, my friends there’.”
When asked whether the outing was staged, Rom said: “When it comes to whether or not they’re staged, all that I know from a showbiz perspective is paparazzi are not like how they used to be. They don’t stalk people how they used to stalk, so perhaps they were tipped off. It all seemed very much self-contained.”
