Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been branded "phonies" by historian and author Andrew Lownie following their quasi-royal trip to Nottingham. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited three charities in the East Midlands city on Thursday, greeting crowds in the style of a traditional royal walkabout.
Mr Lownie told News24: "They're trying to build their profile. They think that there's more support for them than they realise." He added: "They don't seem to have a great deal of self awareness, to realise that no one's interested in them, that they're just seen as phonies."
Criticism of the couple's UK bid
The author, who received acclaim for Entitled, his biography of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and Sarah Ferguson, last year, suggested the British public has "lost interest" in Harry and Meghan. "They're kind of hanging themselves by their own rope," he said, adding that Buckingham Palace's approach was essentially "to ignore them" and allow them to "wither away".
The Sussexes' trip was not an official royal engagement, with a letter to Government stakeholders authorised by the King last month clarifying that they remain "private citizens", but it appeared to bear all the hallmarks of one. In keeping with royal tradition, photographers and journalists outside were kept behind barriers, as were crowds of well-wishers, some clutching flowers, while media access inside the event was pooled.
Return to the UK
The couple greeted the crowds in the style of a walkabout, smiling, shaking hands, giving hugs and taking selfies with members of the public. The trip marked the first time in four years Meghan has appeared publicly at a UK event, the last being the late Queen's funeral in 2022.
The couple set up home back in England in August, six years after sparking the Megxit crisis and quitting the working monarchy for a new life in the US. They have not publicly confirmed the motivations behind the move, although Harry has ambiguously cited "lots of reasons".
Security and status concerns
The family are still waiting to hear whether they will be granted taxpayer-funded security, with Harry said to fear a delay after the Home Secretary announced a review of security measures for public figures and royalty in the wake of Ann Widdecombe's death. They were protected by their private security team during the Nottingham visit, rather than police convoys assigned to senior working royals.
The duke and duchess, who are thought to have settled in the Cotswolds, have both expressed their happiness about returning to the UK. This is in spite of a public spat with Buckingham Palace over their status, with the couple reportedly preferring the term "public figures" to "private citizens", and security concerns which saw their children move schools just two days into the autumn term. They also hit out at "extraordinarily reckless" international paparazzi who were caught looking into the grounds of Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet's second-choice school, accusing them of an "unacceptable intrusion into the privacy of children".
