Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been criticised by royal fans online following their latest updates. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are said to be on a "break", but their recent move has drawn backlash from critics who accused them of trying to stay in the spotlight.
A source close to the Sussexes insisted the Duke never "sets out" to steal the limelight from his father or Prince William. However, in a thinly-veiled swipe at the Firm, the insider told The Times that Harry needs "decent foresight" of upcoming royal events to avoid embarrassing scheduling clashes in the future.
Sussexes to stay under the radar for half-term
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will reportedly stay under the radar for the next two weeks to spend half-term with children Archie and Lilibet. A Sussex source told The Times that if the couple withdrew from their own events at the last minute, especially for their recent away day in Birmingham, it would disappoint charities.
They said, tellingly pointing the finger at the Palace: "He [Prince Harry] can only mitigate against clashes if information is shared with him in advance."
Fans vent outrage on social media
Fans flocked to social media to vent their outrage over the Sussexes' shift in approach. One user wrote on X: "Time to rebrand again. These two are pathetic." Another blasted: "It's impossible for her to stay quiet." A third commented: "The only i***** on the planet who have to make a press statement that they're not going to make press statements … honestly, how conceited."
The criticism comes as Meghan's father, Thomas Markle Snr, found himself at the centre of a police probe after his own son, Thomas Markle Jnr, claimed to have found a stash of child sex abuse images at his father's former home in Cebu. Mr Markle Sr has admitted paying for sex in the south-east Asian country but denies ever possessing a hoard of such material.
Police refer themselves to watchdog
The Metropolitan Police said it has voluntarily referred itself to the police watchdog because it failed to pass on a letter detailing allegations against the Duchess of Sussex's father to relevant overseas law enforcement agencies. The Met said that in 2019, it received a letter in which the author suggested "they were writing to raise concerns relating to the security of the Duchess of Sussex".
The Met added the letter "did not actually contain any information specifically related to security matters, it did contain a number of claims about alleged offending outside the United Kingdom". It was passed to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for their awareness, the force said. Following a review, a voluntary referral has been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct "in respect of the decision not to inform other law enforcement agencies, and the decision to pass the letter to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex".
