Queen Elizabeth II's former press spokesman has discussed the feelings of anger those in the UK still harbour towards Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The Sussexes recently made their first joint appearance since returning to the UK at the end of August, despite being non-working royals.
They were greeted by crowds of fans as they stepped out in the city before visiting Community Recording Studio (CRS), food poverty community action group Himmah Hub, and Epic Partners, which supports young people through sports programmes and mentoring.
Anger over 'breezing back'
Despite what looked to be a warm welcome, TalkTV presenter Jeremy Kyle questioned Dickie Arbiter on whether people in the UK are still angry with the Sussexes after they stepped down as working royals and moved to America in 2020.
"I think there's a lot of anger in the way they breezed back, having rubbished the Royal Family over a period of six years and still demanding 24-hour police protection at taxpayers's expense," he said.
The interview took place shortly before Harry, 42, and Meghan, 45, arrived in Nottingham, with Dickie correctly assuming that they would receive a positive reaction.
Warm welcome expected
"They'll go wild for them in Nottingham. That's the way the Brits perform, they make people welcome. It doesn't matter who they are, whether they're people coming off rubber boats or coming in legally, they make people welcome you," he mused.
Dickie, who was a press spokesman for Queen Elizabeth II from 1988 until 2000, highlighted the importance of the date of Harry and Meghan's appearance in Nottingham, pointing out that it clashed with a major royal visit by King Charles.
Clash with King Charles
King Charles and Queen Camilla attended the ceremonial opening of the Welsh Parliament, marking the first time the monarch has attended the ceremony since ascending to the throne. This led Jeremy to question whether Dickie believes Harry and Meghan chose the date specifically to "overshadow" King Charles.
"I couldn't possibly comment on that. But interestingly, they only came back in August and here we are in October," Dickie remarked. "It would have been known way back when they got here in August that the King was scheduled to open The Senedd in Wales on this very day.
"So, are they overshadowing the King? The media will be there in full force up in Nottingham. There will be coverage for the King and Queen in Wales and I hope there's a lot more coverage for them than there is for those two," he added.
